Difference between your Online and B&M game?

[NickyC]

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On the other hand, the pace makes me want to stick a pencil in my eye and the rake is like, everything on the whole table every 2 hours or so.

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Every two hours?!? Live casinos run .25/.50 limit?

[danspartan]

Online
+easy to table shop, easy to have good starting hand discipline (fast pace, multi-tabling). Easy to leave if it sucks.
-fish bust out quick, usually replaced by another but no sure thing. Easy to have household distractions.

Live
+Fish, fish that keep pulling out more hundos, fish that go to the atm, fish that make credit card withdrawls at the cage. Scenery. Conversation.
-got to drive there. Tend to stay when stuck/playing poorly (i.e. turn into da fish). Can be boring (hello conversation or ipod)

[PorkchopDJG]

Live Lower and Mid Limit
The Play = Loose/Passive - You can limp more marginal hands (Axs, 78s, 33) because the chance of others limping and nobody raising behind you are high. You play most hands multiway (5+players). You can't really bluff or continuation bet because they will call you with any pair or draw. Just wait to get big hands and get paid off.
Negatives
-it may be hard to leave if things go bad early and you have driven a long way to get there.
-People can be annoying
-You will play less hands per hour
Positives
-You can actually look at the people at the tables which can help you pick out the right ones to play at.
-People are often interesting
-Intangibles of playing live, Stacking the chips, feeling the cards, etc...

Online Micro Limit and up.
The Play = Tight/Aggressive - you can't limp into lots of pots because it's likely to get raised or 3 bet behind you. You play most hands 2 or 3 way. You have to wait for good hands and you should usually be raising if coming into a hand. You don't cold call with any dominated type hands. If you have the right image you can make some moves that will work.
Negatives
-You feel like a hermit
-Can't see players and physical tells, mannerisms
Positives
-You can play more hands
-Easier to quit if you are getting crushed

I prefer live a lot better these days but both have good and bad aspects as you can see..

[jeffnc]

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I thinks the tells aspect that everyone pushes is vastly overrated.

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Me too.

Just empirically, live play is about having fun. People are gambling and don't expect to have an edge necessarily (they play roulette and blackjack too, right?) And then there are the guys who think they know what they're doing, but don't.

Online is the opposite. The people there have studied, are tighter, vary their play more, etc.

Obviously there is some overlap and there are gamblers online and serious players live, but that is a tendency.

Then of course the social aspect and actually being in front of someone can change how you play your hands too.

[SellingtheDrama]

I think that most online players undervalue physical reads, and most live players overvalue them.

They are a terrific complementary tool, but unless you are Phil Hellmuth, they are not going to make or break you.

The one tell-group I'd always advise people to look for is a version of 'I'm going to fold'. If they really want to fold, I'm more than happy to bluff them. If I can steal one pot per hour off this, I'll cover my time charges, my lunch, and pay for gas/tolls/parking.

[*TT*]

everyone - Please keep in mind the OP asked about play in general, he was not specifically referring to NL or limit hold'em. Normally we would move a thread like this to the relevant strategy forum but since the OP is vague we can keep the thread in B&M assuming the thread doesn't become specific about a game. Thanks in advance!

[canvasbck]

I have found that online I tend to get distracted more and focus less (2+2, porn, news, ect). When I play live, I am in a cardroom, there is nothing to do EXCEPT pay attention to the game and chat up the other players. I really feel that my live success is due to not only the weaker players, but I just flat play better.

FWIW, I also do not use PT or PTHUD. I don't like the idea of a database doing all my work for me and I feel it's borderline cheating. These are tools not available to me live, therefore I don't want to become dependant on reading my opp as 24/8 instead of paing attention to each person at the table.

[Brad1970]

Some live players need a crash course in personal hygiene, so bring a nose plug, mints, gum, etc.

[Ultra Violet]

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Some live players need a crash course in personal hygiene, so bring a nose plug, mints, gum, etc.

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No kidding. I sat down at an awesome cash table (well, as awesome as $2-5 can be) and my eyes were watering from some guy that bathed in BenGay for some kind of back injury he would not shut up about. I was able to tuneout the whining with my iPod, but the BenGay was pretty overwhelming.

Fortunately, BenGay Guy went away after about 45 minutes. But then I went to another poker room to play in a tournament and got seated next to AfterShave Man and Patchouli Dude. Damn.

After the tourney I went back to play cash and guess who I got seated next to? Slurring Scotch-on-the-Rocks Guy. I caught a buzz just from his breath. And why is it the more some one's breath reeks of booze the closer they need to be to your face when they talk to you?

There's nothing quite like live poker. The sights, the sounds, the smells.....

[*TT*]

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FWIW, I also do not use PT or PTHUD. I don't like the idea of a database doing all my work for me and I feel it's borderline cheating. These are tools not available to me live, therefore I don't want to become dependant on reading my opp as 24/8 instead of paing attention to each person at the table.

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your making an error in your thought process. PT and a hud makes the online game more like a live game, it does not give you a significant edge at all, it only helps you remember what your opponent online - who does not have a face - has done in the past. Live this is very easy to remember especially since we all tend to play with the same core groups of players week after week, online you need some help to make it a level playing field with live play. Of course there are some players who play by the stats they see on the screen only, luckily this style of play will actually put them at a disadvantage... I welcome "hud bots" in my games because I can generally take advantage of their weaknesses.

Also keep in mind there isn't a single online room that thinks using a HUD/poker tracker is cheating, so why should you?

Sorry to get off topic, its just that this is such a commonly misunderstood concept by live players who play online as well.