Do you like to play poker live but are frustrated with the slow speed of the game after getting used to multitabling online? If the answer is yes, then you MUST try the Poker Pro automated poker tables.
Haven’t heard of them? Promoted by big name pros like Johnny Chan, Phil Laak, and Antonio Esfandiari, PokerTek’s Poker Pro automated poker table revolutionizes the live poker playing experience by giving players all the advantages online poker play provides.
The dealer, cards, and chips are eliminated in favor of a computerized screen where you can see all the action, just like when you play poker online. Moreover, a huge advantage over live poker is that at on an automated poker table screen, you can see your own statistics and hand histories! Instead of taking mental or actual notes (we recommend the Poker Notes Live mobile app for this by the way), all the numbers are crunched for your instant analysis!
Presto! No more dealer errors! No more time consuming chip counts! Best of all, no more need to tip! All these factors add up to a much speedier poker playing experience so you can get more hands in per session.
Yet, despite all these similarities to online poker, the human interaction factor is still there. Instead of just having to rely on betting patterns and worrying about possible online collusion, your opponents are sitting there right in front of you. In other words, you can still use all your live poker skills to get a good read!
The tables are capable of dealing all forms of poker, from Texas Hold ’em to Omaha, to Stud games, to Razz. Who doesn’t love mixed games?! In addition to cash games, casinos featuring the automated poker tables often run tournaments on them. The beauty? The speed! Both single-table and multi-table poker tournaments finish up in a fraction of the time of “regular” live poker tournaments. In other words, you don’t have to grind for hours on end to make it to the final table!
Particularly prevalent on cruise ships, over the last few years, Poker Pro automated poker tables have been popping up at land-based casinos all over the world.
PokerTek Automated Tables vs. Traditional Live Poker
We’ll be honest here: in principle and on paper, this is a good idea. There are so many advantages to playing on an automated poker table, the “best” of which are no dealer errors and getting in more hands per hour.
But on the flip side, there’s just nothing like riffling, stacking and throwing chips in to a pot. When just clicking buttons, you don’t have the same endorphin rush of collecting a big pot of chips the dealer pushes to you. While you don’t have to tip, you also don’t get to see the dealer’s smile of appreciation when you would have done so.
So here at Cardplayer Lifestyle, while we appreciate the type of experience that playing an an automated poker table could provide, and that it’s certainly a better option for casino resorts than not having any poker facilities at all, we’ll always advocate for a premium live poker experience.