Online poker has developed far more professional poker players than cardroom poker. There are a few reasons that more professional poker players come from online than land-based casinos, not the least of which is the number of hands played.
Online poker allows players to play far more hands and learn much quicker than cardroom poker. Some of the greatest poker players in the world like Doyle Brunson have said that online poker players can learn in a few years what it has taken players like him a lifetime to learn. There are just so many more opportunities to play poker online. You can play infinitely more hands because in addition to hands being dealt faster, you can play multiple tables at the same time. The learning curve for professional poker players is so much quicker thanks to online poker. The reading material and books available is also far greater than it has ever been which increases the learning potential.
Years ago all of the top professional poker players were the older players who had worked their way up by playing at land-based casinos or home games through the years. That is not the case today. Many of the top professional poker players are online professional poker players or they are players who have adapted to the online game.
Every day there are more and more professional poker players coming
from the online ranks and that is not going to change.