While you will often find professional gamblers honing their skills on gambling sites such as W88, nearly every single person that plays poker professionally would prefer live poker games, and there are several reasons as to why.
Reading Poker Tells
A key component of being successful in poker is being able to read the tells of other players. If you can do this, then the game becomes far, far easier to win. Professional pokers spend their playing lives trying to establish how to read other people. For many professionals, being able to read tells is a good chunk of their game.
The problem is that when you gamble online, you do not physically get to see the other players. This will take away one element of the game. Professional players can work around it, but it does become a whole lot more difficult to do.
Putting Other Players on Tilt
Another major problem with playing poker online is that you are not able to put other players on tilt. What does this mean? Well, it means that you can’t try to ‘psyche out’ the other players, or you can’t try to mislead them about the cards that you have in your hands. Again, this is something that forms a major part of a professional poker player’s strategy, and you are going to be taking that away from them.
Obviously, if you play a live game of poker, you can do this.
More Control Over the Game
Some people do not enjoy playing online poker simply because you do not have as much control over the amount that you are spending. If you are huddled around a real poker table, you can see the poker chips physically leaving your hand. It becomes a bit easier to ensure that you stop playing when you reach your limits. You cannot do this online. There is no physical representation of your money, and this can make it easier to overspend.
Higher Prizes
Poker tournaments in ‘real-life’ tend to have higher prizes available. Obviously, since the aim of a professional poker player is to make as much money as possible, this is going to be a major perk. Of course, there are still major tournaments online, but the prizes never seem to be as high.
You Will Be Playing Against People of the Same Skill Level
If you play live poker, you will be able to hone your game. You will become a better professional player. While you can see improvements to your game if you solely play online, it is never going to be a proper substitute for being able to look somebody in the eye.
In many cases, professional players can work their magic against other professional players in a live setting. Online, you will likely face more amateur players. This means that you will win money, but you will not become a better player.
Conclusion
While professional gamblers do prefer live poker, they will play online regularly. After all, what better way is there to hone your skills if you can’t quite get to a real casino to play?