“Comparing [online play] to a live game where most of the time people are relatively talkative, usually in decent spirits, is like night and day,” Hoppmann says. “In the games I play online these days, it’s mostly younger people who are out to make as much money as possible. Being cordial and chatting and having a good time seems to take a back seat. They will do what it takes to keep their opposition happy and playing, but not much more.”

Pyatskowit says online and live play are “different animals.” He says poker nights will not go away completely because those nights are primarily about hanging out with other people.

“I think there are still enough poker players who appreciate the thrill of playing live,” Pyatskowit says.

Hammerling agrees the live game has staying power and it is much more personal and competitive, compared to online play.

“I think there will always be poker nights,” Hammerling says. “I think most people still learn to play in someone’s basement with five bucks. … When you’re multi-tabling online, you’re just trying to beat the game for a good income. All the other players are just statistics that you read and interpret.”

Hammerling says he has more fun playing house games because he can experiment with new techniques because the stakes are usually lower.

“I also get to play with my friends, rather than a bunch of random assholes, which is a plus,” Hammerling says.

Hoppmann, who has found success online, rarely plays on the live scene anymore.

“Once a year I go to Vegas, during the World Series of Poker, to play a few events and hang out,” Hoppmann says. “A couple times a year I go to L.A. and play at a place called Commerce Casino, which is where you go to play big live games now.”

Sometimes Hoppmann returns to Canterbury Card Club, a Minnesota poker room where he played in high school, but since the biggest bet allowed is $60, he just plays for fun.

The traditional house game may have lost some of its appeal to Hoppmann, but he still thinks poker night will always be around, especially for amateur players.

“Playing Texas Hold ‘em in a small home game with friends for a couple bucks is a big bore now,” Hoppmann says. “It will always be fun to get together with some people and maybe have a couple beers and just hang out. … It might actually become more popular if online poker starts to show a dramatic slow down.”

Playing online

Most poker players embrace the rise of the online poker, but the popularity of the new form has changed the game.

“Not seeing your opponents is certainly a disadvantage, but it’s honestly one of the smaller ones compared to live play,” Hammerling says.

Hammerling thinks the average online player is more skilled than the average live casino player at the same stakes.

“This may even be being generous to casino players,” Hammerling says. “Simply put, they are awful. They usually have no clue what they are doing and are just there to gamble and have a good time.”

Though the competition is harder, Hammerling appreciates the ability to play multiple games at once online.

“The players may be way better, but there is no substitute for playing 10 tables at a time whenever you feel like it,” Hammerling says.

Hoppmann says he adapts to the lack of physical “tells” online.

“There are other things to pick up on, though, such as the time it takes someone to make an action – checking or betting. ‘Timing tells,’ we call them,” Hoppmann says.