transitioning from live NLHE to online w/ lots of questions

[joebatters]

I am a live NLHE player from northern California who is seriously thinking of giving up the B&M rooms and giving the online game a chance for a variety of reasons. Hopefully I am posting this in the right forum. I have been a pretty successful 1-2 through 5-10 NLHE player but have kind of hit the peak of what I can make with the games in my area. I am admittingly a little naive about the online game but have been watching the 1-2 and 2-4 NLHE games on FTP and Stars and there still looks to be plenty of action and money to be made. Here are my questions:

1) how easy is it to deposit 5k into account? can i just send a cahiers check in?

2)what site would be better to start multitabling on, FTP or Stars? can I get rakeback on both?

3) I know since things cracked down the online games have not been as good but is the action still good at the 1-2 and 2-4 NLHE games?

4) How hard is it to get your money out from FTP and stars?

anypther advice and suggestions would be great. thx

joebatters

[Reef]

1) probably not that easy to get 5k in at once.. email the sites to ask what deposit methods they have available

2) fulltilt has traditional RB, stars has player points (once you reach a high playing level it is basically equivalent or greater)

3) MSNL is still very very beatable

4) just request a check (should take less than 1 week for >$1K

[joebatters]

reef, thanks for the feedback. a few more questions:

1) what do i recieve for stars players points?

2) is rakeback essential to being successful a profitable player?

3) what site do you think has the easiest 1-2 and 2-4 nl games?

thx
joeb

[pokeriseasy]

Rakeback certainly isn't essential but it's definitely a help. Personally I'm able to live off my rakeback (2k+ a month) which allows me to not really touch my roll, which is great.

I played both Stars and FT for a long time and now I just play on Stars because I felt the games were softer as well as the option of rakeback.

My suggestion is when you start playing go with full ring at first because it will be a smoother transition. Then once you get used to the increase of speed in the online games compared to the live game then give 6max a try if you feel inclined to.

[joebatters]

just so I am sure you are saying you can get rakeback from stars? I have liked the looks of the games on stars but thought I would be losing out on the rakeback.

[phu_dawg]

On Stars, there is no rakeback. Rackback is available on FTP and other sites. I signed my roommate up for RB through FTP, and he is one of those animal players and he makes $900 a week in RB! Get it. It only helps. (Message me, I'd love to refer you)

Stars player points are great and each point earned is a consistent value. Here are some of the things I was able to pick up with my points from last year:

1 Custom set of clay chips
1 Digital SLR camera
1 50" Toshiba Plasma TV
1 Toshiba HD DVD player
1 Digital point and shoot camera
1 Numerous hoodies, shirts, etc
1 All the poker books
Tons of other little nick knacks.

I am from the Bay Area myself and was hesitant to go online at first, prefering the live cash games where I spent 30 hours a week. After 2 years playing online, I find it very little reason to go to the card rooms around the Bay Area. I only play live when I make trips to LA or Vegas, now. The convenience can't be beat.

I play exclusively on Stars. For some reason, I just can't win on FTP. But my roommate swears things are the other way around. You'll get varying opinions on which site is tougher. Just pick a site and stick to it.

[phu_dawg]

..........As for other things, make sure you get PokerTracker w/PAHUD. They are invaluable tools. If you have friends nearby that play online, see if you can bring a laptop over and play along side them initially. Joint sessions are always helpful. And will get your situated to the adjustment. That is the true difference between the live game and the online game. The online game is a solitary activity, live of course is a social (sometimes anti-social) activity.

As a added benefit of online play, your poker game/skill will increase exponentially once you start playing online. The pace at which you see hands, scenarios, cannot be matched by the live game. You'll go back to the live games and crush them once you play online.

[joebatters]

phu, I am actually from sacramento. Where did you used to play down there, artichoke joes or lucky chances? The pickems are so slim up here for good no limit games. Once you get up to the 5-10 and above games you are playing with the same group and players and they are not soft. I can beat the smaller games but to make any good money I have to play 40-60 hours a week. I started playing on party poker a few months before it went down and it was a dream but I have not gone back to playing online since the legislation.

can I send in a cashiers check or money order to these sites to open an account?

[pokeriseasy]

Joe, I made a typo, I meant to say I play on Full Tilt because of the rakeback and the games being easier.

[phu_dawg]

I am from San Jose. Because of county restrictions on gaming here, there are no games bigger than 100/200 LHE. So most of my initial live play was in LHE where I was a slight winner after all those hours. Not much of a LHE player. Every now and again, I would venture up the 101 to go to Lucky Chances. I won everytime I went, but only went a handful of times. But it was an excursion to Vegas for a friend's b-day that got me to switch to NLHE, where I am a much better player. Fortunately, that coincided with me beginning to play online. Once I got online, it has been pure NLHE all the way.

I happen to know a few local pro's, so if I ever need my accounts to be funded, I would have them ship it and trade it in for cash. Saves me the hassle, but of course that may not be an option for you. Not much I can tell you about deposits since honestly, I haven't made one over $600 in about 2 years.