based Poker History

Land-based poker is popular not only for the atmosphere, but for the exciting major poker tournaments that are offered in land-based settings as well.

Playing Land-based Poker

It is difficult to know exactly how old the game of poker is. Related games date back as far as the fifteenth century at least and may be able to be traced as far back as some ancient Chinese games from the 10th century, although these games were not poker as we know it today. In any event, the game did not appear online until the 1990s. Early poker players played the game in its land-based form, enjoying not only the game itself, but the atmosphere and the bluffing that came along with it. While many poker players today enjoy playing poker online and there are many resources online for people to learn how to play the game and improve their skills, professional poker players always appear live for their major tournament play. There is something about live land-based poker that cannot be matched by playing the game online.

The Benefits of Land-based Poker

There is a lot of literature available today on the benefits of playing poker online as with the increased popularity and accessibility of the Internet, this is the latest trend in gambling. However, there remain many benefits to playing poker in a land-based setting. Land-based poker is very popular among amateurs, as well as professional players.

The pace of land-based poker tends to be slower as players must wait for a live dealer to deal the card, as opposed to the automatic dealing by the computer. At the lower limit tables, the games tend to be more relaxed allowing players the opportunities to ask questions or chat. This is ideal for amateur players. There is a certain atmosphere that is felt in land-based casinos and poker rooms that is not present in online casinos and poker rooms. You do not get caught up in the hustle and bustle, the music and chatting in the same way when you are sitting alone in front of a computer screen. Bluffing techniques are an aspect of poker that cannot be used effectively against a computer screen. Professional poker players often perfect their bluffing skills and these can only be taken advantage of in land-based poker games. Being able to read your opponents is the flip-side of the bluffing coin. If you cannot see your opponents because you are playing online, you cannot use your techniques for reading your opponents to help your game.

Land-based Poker Tournaments

The majority of the major poker tournaments that are available today are land-based. While there are plenty of online tournaments available as well, the biggest names in poker events are live events. These attract thousands, if not tens or thousands of players and provide the most coveted titles in the poker world. Generally, the biggest prize money is offered at live land-based tournaments. Online poker tournaments also offer large prizes, but they are generally not to the same level as the live poker tournament prizes. Some of the most famous live land-based poker tournaments include the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour.