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For years Poker has been a booming game. Some have called it an enjoyable hobby, others a cutthroat sport. If not for online poker, the game would have never launched into iconic status. Let's face it. Online poker is the one and only reason why the game grew at all.

It started some time ago with then thousands of people logging in to try their hand at this game. It soon became an addiction. Since then, many have ventured out into real world poker rooms and tournaments. Many online poker players today are "practicing" for the big-time. And many poker pros play online.

That said, there are two big differences between online poker and your brick and mortar poker room-and no, it's not just the cigar smoke and sometimes annoying wait to get into a game. The two main differences are time and tells-the two T's. Today, I'll break them down for you.

Time

Online poker is a lightning fast game compared to real world poker. When you watch poker on TV, they actually do a major editing job to make it look more up to speed.

When you play online poker, you're acting within 20-30 seconds. You either act before your timer goes down or you're done. There isn't much think time.

Now, play in the real world and it's a drastic change. The game moves at a snail's pace. For some this is good. You can sit there and think about what to do.

However, the slower game means less hands per hour, which in turn can mean lower profit per hour. If you're a mechanical online poker player that just cranks out the profit per hand, real world play might not be good for you.

Tells

Countless articles and books have been written that deal with tells at the poker table. In fact, talk to any poker pro and he or she will talk about playing the player not the cards.

Good or bad, you can't do this with online poker. Tells virtually don't exist. Sure, you can pick up some playing habits if you play with someone long enough, but it's difficult. There's no way to study your opponent.

For some, this is a good thing. Your opponents can't see you doing cartwheels, because you've just scored a full house on the river or picked up trips on the flop. But, true pros do their best work when they are sitting across from other players in the real world.

It's my opinion that bluffing in online play is darn near stupid. The only way to bluff is to bet more or less and pray that your opponent(s) care. It just doesn't have the same weight as the real world.