Poker continues to be immensely popular because it’s been able to evolve to match the times. Since the dot-com bubble in the 2000s, poker has stayed timely by transitioning online. In 2020, there was a 30% increase in online poker traffic. Much more accessible than its physical counterpart, online poker has since become an international phenomenon that drew in $73 billion in revenue in 2021 alone.
With this huge surge in popularity, online poker has understandably influenced many players to invest in digital tools they can play on. And as more players are taking online poker seriously they are investing in high-powered gaming laptops.
If you’re wondering why online poker players prefer to play on such juiced up laptops, here are some of the biggest reasons why:
Offers comfortable gameplay
Unlike smartphones, tablets, or regular laptops, gaming laptops are outfitted with features that make gameplay more enjoyable. These often include a larger and higher resolution monitor, a more robust keyboard, and extra ports for gaming peripherals. This means, that with a gaming laptop you don’t have to contend with pixelated images or tricky trackpads. If the site you’re on also features a poker voice chat element or something similar, the extra ports will allow you to add plug-and-play headphones. A gaming laptop’s keyboard is also ergonomically designed so that your hands won’t be strained despite prolonged use. The RGB lighting on these keyboards also helps you to see the keys, and are designed to withstand the extra stress of long matches.
Handles multiple tasks smoothly
A gaming laptop has the distinct advantage of a powerful GPU, RAM, and CPU. All of these together enable players to launch multiple tasks simultaneously without overloading the system. This allows you to both play your matches in HD and leverage online resources. This is especially handy for newer players who may want to use a program to calculate poker odds. This critical process of knowing when to call and understanding the odds can be done with information online. But with weaker processors found in non-gaming devices, pulling up this information while your game is launched may slow down the device. This can lead to stuttering, poor FPS, and even devices crashes. A gaming laptop can do all this and more, plus it’s also got a more advanced cooling system that can mitigate overheating.
Portability and long-lasting battery
Moving into why a gaming laptop is preferable to other high-powered devices like a PC, the key benefit of a laptop is of course portability. Particularly if you’re an avid player, you may want to have access to games while commuting or traveling. You may even want to be able to play in different rooms in your home or pack your laptop up to go and play alongside a friend. The hobby is simply more versatile via laptop, whereas a PC is stationary. Since gaming laptops are also designed to be used for demanding tasks, you don’t have to worry about using up your battery life. The average gaming laptop can run for up to six hours on a single charge without a need to reduce the settings. That’s more than enough time to complete a match, with a little extra juice left before you need to grab your charger.
Relative affordability
Finally, a gaming laptop can also be a more affordable option than a PC gaming rig, considering its impressive specs. Building a gaming PC setup will cost you a hefty sum, considering that there is a semiconductor shortage affecting PC users. Alternatively, gaming laptops come at many different price points so you can always find one for your budget. On top of this, should you want to customize your gaming laptop at some point, it’s also infinitely cheaper than if you were to do this on PC. Laptop gaming peripherals tend to be easier to come by and add on, so you won’t have to shell out a fortune if you want to enhance your online poker experience.
For all of these reasons, a gaming laptop is an online poker gamechanger—literally. If you want to experience all the perks and benefits of this game, a gaming laptop can satisfy all your preferences. Regardless of whether you’re new or a pro to online poker, a gaming laptop is one tool of the trade worth investing in.
Check out our casino articles for more on gaming trends.
