Online vs. In person

The_Gunt · #1 01-19-05, 10:49 AM

All,
Anyone have difficulty playing online vs in person. I seem to play much better at the card club or in private parties but, online I can't seem to pull off any sustained runs. Is it possible my ability to make reads is covering for poor strategy? I have read several poker books and have listened to advice in this forum but I still seem to struggle online. I'm up $300 for the year in games that I play face to face but down $250 for games played online. I mostly play sit and gos online and in person but I sometimes play NL $25 buy in tables online at PP and that is where I seem to lose most of my money. Any help with switching tournament style face to face to online open ended games.

Only been playing for about 3 months and I am having fun even with the problems online. I would stick to just playing in person but the card club is over two hours away and I am now having a hard time finding a regular game locally with my friends. Any help would be appreciated.

omahilo · #2 01-19-05, 11:27 AM

Online IMO you got to play much more ABC poker and just play cards. Online you play the cards and live you play the people, that is my opinion. Also online people are unbluffable for the most part in lower limit games. Like if the SB or BB has like A2 and the flop comes with a Ace... your not bluffing them out of the hand.

GeoffM · #3 01-19-05, 11:34 AM

The skill level of online players is also a lot weaker than at card clubs IMO. So yeah, you may just be experiencing a bad negative swing thanks to suck outs and shitty players.

PShabi · #4 01-19-05, 11:39 AM

Finally got my hobit ass outside on MLK day and went to the B&M. I'm much better live. Reading an opponent's body/facial features is so vital. Even in a low-limit game.

How many times have I made a bet online and been literally screaming, "Don't call! Don't Call! Don't Call!" Just can't do that live.

I'd love to give up online altogether, however, I wouldn't be able to play nearly as much.

Online poker is not real poker.

jillaj · #5 01-19-05, 01:50 PM

I would say it isn't real poker just another game. Live and online are almost as different as holdem and Omaha. Or thats at least the way that I look at it.

Gutzz · #6 01-19-05, 03:36 PM

Hey,

Yeah I think online there's less room to branch out from the ABC stuff, especially since you rarely play enough with the players to gain the information required to do those moves.

For me, I love playing online. Honestly it's so fast and you get to play so many tables... And the players are sooo terrible...

You're just in an adjustment state... Don't have the goal of winning money in the session online. Your goal should be like... Make as few mistakes as possible. Basically get your mind off the money. Also, you should post some of the hands you play and wonder about...

Also in NL knowing the player is very very valuable, since it's not that easy to know the online players (unless you've played a lot of them), often the results based on your decisions become a little random.

Cheers,

Gutzz

The_Gunt · #7 01-24-05, 08:06 AM

Thanks for all the replies. I have placed 3rd in a couple of sit-n-gos recently and placed in the top 60 of a 200 person qualifier at PP. I was on a roll when the chip leader at my table went all in with KK I had AA so I went all in. He was about 500 chips ahead of me, I figured if I won the hand I could cruise for awhile but he caught a King and I was out. Took a risk and I think it was worth it but it didn't pan out for me. I think I play the sit-n-gos a little better because they are low buy in and you get a lot of chips to start. You also play against the same people for a longer period of time. I will post some hands so you guys can analyze some time in the future. Thanks again for the replies.

badblood44 · #8 01-24-05, 04:49 PM

It took me quite a while to differentiate my online play vs. live play. I'd been a live play long-time winner, but only recently have I become profitable online.

I agree, two different games.

The_Gunt · #9 01-24-05, 10:56 PM

While I seem to be doing OK in sit and gos getting the feeling for them. Still not doing much good at ring games. I just missed finishing in the money at a $10 sit-n-go. I was hoping the fourth would get knocked out as I was just hanging on for my life. He went head to head a couple times with the chip leader and won. Oh well I think I will stick to sit and gos and maybe play the .50/1 once in awhile. For now I need to stay away from NL ring games till I can win a few s-n-gs. Thanks for the encouragement.

junYUN · #10 01-25-05, 12:51 PM

i'm a much better in person type player. my reads go up dramatically

eddo31 · #11 01-25-05, 01:45 PM

one of the differences in play could be the types of games that you are playing. if you are playing limit ring games live, then you cant really compare those results to either sngs or to nl 25 games. they are completely different types of games, and they reward different types of play.

i personally like playing live better, but my results are better playing online. this is probably because my best games are o8 and stud8, and there are very rarely these games spread live. (i usually play at foxwoods, which is a huge poker room, and they struggle to get an omaha game going and they never have any low limit stud8 games).

The_Gunt · #12 01-26-05, 01:13 PM

Sorry about the confusion on the games I have been playing. Most of my experience is playing small tournaments with friends and coworkers. Buy ins are usually around $5-$25 with an occasional $50 and are in the 10 person range. I almost always place in the top 3 and that means I almost always win at least my money back but usually win more. When I play online sit and go tourneys I am finishing 5th or 4th a lot with a couple 3rd place finishes recently.

I tried to play some $25 NL buy in ring games on PP and that is where I lost most of my money. I am defaulting to the limit .50/1 in the mean time till I can reestablish a bankroll either through pay or refilling my account.

My ability to play better in the tournament setting makes sense since this is where I have most of my experience and have read books almost exclusively on NLH tournaments. Think I will pick up the low limit book I have seen mentioned in another thread and start with that. Focusing on low limit ring and NL tourneys for the short term.