Not sure why I do better live than online

DMC0627 · #1 06-01-2007, 03:24 AM

But have found this to be very true. I am not sure if this is a problem many others have had, but I have been keeping track of my wins/losses, and online seems to be a losing situation for me. I did well at first, and I think I play the same whether I am live or on the internet. No, I don't think the internet is rigged, I am not implying that. I just cannot understand if maybe the qualify of play is better, or I do play worse without realizing it, etc. I would expect live players to actually be more skilled than internet. Would like to hear from others if they have ideas, or if they have had similar probs. Curious, I really enjoy going to the b&m but its an hour away. My computer is right here.

Remas367 · #2 06-01-2007, 04:39 AM

Well, DMC the cards online are random but in casino's you can have re-acurances. I know you can online to but dosn't feel so much like it. About the can't keep track thing buy poker tracker.

-Remas

Richas · #3 06-01-2007, 06:26 AM

I find it easier to concentrate on the game live. Physical tells may be a help too but the real difference for me is a bit more time to think about it before putting my chips in. Live I sense weakness better and call off my chips less.

Live I play against MUCH better players but my results if anything, especially cash are a bit better. I admit it is wierd but I reckon it is considering each hand I am involved in with a bit more depth is the difference.

VegasNick · #4 06-01-2007, 06:28 AM

maybe cause live is real poker

Matt Williams · #5 06-01-2007, 05:27 PM

When you play online, you need to grind it out most times. But live, you know IMMEDIATELY who is drunk and has money to burn. You can sit for 2 hours folding every hand and stack a drunk guy not paying attention. It's also harder to take online player seriously because you don't have immediate access to the money like you do online.

runout_mick · #6 06-01-2007, 06:48 AM

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I would expect live players to actually be more skilled than internet.

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At similar stakes, live players are exponentially worse than their online counterparts.

Javanewt · #7 06-01-2007, 08:54 AM

I agree with the statement about concentrating. When I play live, I know I'm going to be there for many hours. Online, I'll sit for an hour or two. However, even though it's a shorter time, I get bored online and tend to play more marginal hands. I can sit for an hour in a casino and not play a hand. I could never do that online.

You do get better tells or a better feel for live players, too. Online you are usually multitabling and it's harder to keep track. Live you sit with the same people for a long time and can get a much better feel for betting patterns, weakness, strength, etc.

I really prefer live play. I win a lot more live, too.

Definitely agree that the level of play at live 200NL is more like online 25NL. Most live players in casinos are terrible, which is great [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I play a lot of live home games and tend to do well. Who knows -- maybe it's seeing the money and having the chips in hand that makes me play better live. Or, maybe it's the fact that it's $200 and not $25. LOL.

aargh57 · #8 06-01-2007, 10:00 AM

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At similar stakes, live players are exponentially worse than their online counterparts.

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EvilDruidNE · #9 06-01-2007, 10:56 AM

I find it extremely hard to concentrate sometimes when im playing online. Ill play for an hour be doing real good but when a tournament is just dragging and I know theres still 3 hours left i sometimes start to make stupid plays to try to get a big stack. I have no idea why, but when i play live tournaments im completely focused its like im a totally different player. Ive had a lot of people tell me in live tournaments i make exellent reads and must play a lot but really i only play live maybe 1/4 of the time i play online, which is ironicly where i lose most my money!!

I am trying another 50-100$ online and i think i might just give up on it, im only 45 minutes from AC so i can play whenever i want, its just in a casino you cant really play low stakes like online. you need at least like 200$ to play 1-2NL or like 100 for a tourney buy in and my bankroll is small right now

7n7 · #10 06-01-2007, 10:57 AM

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At similar stakes, live players are exponentially worse than their online counterparts.

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I was playing live 1/2 NLHE the other night and a few old codgers were talking about how bad the internet "kids" played.

Table discussion broke out and all agreed that live players were better than online players...that is until it got to me and my vote.

I flatly told them that when I walk into a casino now, I adjust the differences between online and live play usually by 2 levels. E.g. 1/2 NLHE live is about like .25/.50 NL online. 10/20 live limit HE is like 3/6 online, etc.

They of course lumped me in with the arrogant new generation of young poker guns and I'm not even that young. I actually have gray in my hair. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

At any rate, to the OP:

1. Online is a more aggressive battlefield so you tend to lose more (or win more) on average.

2. Good players online are in a lot of ways more experienced than live good players. Multi-tabling and the speed at which cards are dealt allows the online player to see many more hands/situations a lot more frequently than their live counterparts.

3. More hands though also equal more encounters with variance, statistical deviations, etc. E.g., ever heard someone say they see more bad beats online than live? Well, duhhh, the more hands you play or see, the more likely you'll see what appears to non-random card fluctuations.

4. Concentration. I think this plays a much larger role than people will admit. I personally need to delete my internet browser whenever I play.

5. And my favorite axiom: Online poker is rigged dammit!!! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]