5/10nl live skill level is to _______ online

[ScoobyDooo]

Sorry if this question has been asked before but i wasnt able to find it. Im just wondering about the average skill level difference between an online nl game and a live one...

[Learning]

I think the skill level of a 5/10 live game varies a ton. I'm sure some of the games during busy Vegas weekends are equivalent to 25NL, while some NYC underground games can be fairly tough.

[mrkilla]

[ QUOTE ]
while some NYC underground games can be fairly tough.

[/ QUOTE ]

uh...what

[RobTheDuck]

Isn't the general rule 10x the online buyin = the live buyin?

[Overseer55]

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't the general rule 10x the online buyin = the live buyin?

[/ QUOTE ]
Probably for low/micro online limits (e.g. $25NL online = $1/2 NL live), but I'm highly skeptical that the trend continues all across the limits. For example, I would be willing to bet quite a bit of money that a winning $5/10 NL player online (that was breakeven or worse at $10/20 NL) would not be a consistent winner at a $50/100 NL live game...although, a $5/10 NL online player would probably be a winner at a $10/25 NL live game.

Reasons (which may or may not be valid):
1) The "fad" of online is largely over...people play online because they know something about poker (or want to get better). This is not necessarily true in B&Ms. Therefore, people at lower limits online $25NL, $50NL tend to have some knowledge about poker strategy.

2) New & casual players typically play the lowest limit that is available, affordable, and interesting to them. For B&Ms, the lowest NL game spread is generally $1/2. For online casinos, these same players would choose to play $10NL, $25NL or $50NL instead of $200NL. This supports the 10 to 1 ratio at the low limits.

3) Wealthy people (that are not super-rich) are much more likely to take shot at mid-NL full ring games ($5/5, $5/10, maybe $10/20) in B&Ms than to wire $5k through Western Union to PokerStars and sit down at a $10/20 6-max table. However, these people tend to play lower limit games unless they know something about poker. This statement supports a slightly lower ratio (maybe 5 to 1) between online & live at the medium limits.

4) These same wealthy people are probably unlikely to sit at a $25/50 NL or $50/100 NL game live because a) they probably derive less enjoyment from a really large game filled with pros vs. a medium sized game filled with a mixtures of pros, winning players & other so-so players and b) get more excitement playing black chip BJ than risk $5k on one hand of poker. I would say that most high-limit NL live games are filled with almost the same set of people that are willing to play high-limit NL online games. This statement supports a fairly low ratio (2 to 1 or less) for high NL games.

Personally, I think online players like to think that big live games are equivalent to paltry limits online so that they can brag that they are good enough to beat the big live games. Of course, then they tell their friends that they don't have the bankroll for the big live games...

Of course, I could be FOS.

[FireStorm]

Typical absurd 2p2 live play bashing. While there are very bad players live, and the overall skill level online might be slightly better, it's pretty ridiculous to suggest that 100NL games chock full of $49 buy in high school kids are tougher then 5/10 NL tables in AC, underground, etc. I understand people on 2p2 love to rip on the "absurd" things they see live - I, as well as anyone, could easily come up with a weeks worth of online HH's that will make you think someone blind was behind the keyboard.

[lippy]

In my experience, the play at 1/2 and 2/5nl live is comparable to a loose-passive .25/.5nl online game.

[mosch]

[ QUOTE ]
Isn't the general rule 10x the online buyin = the live buyin?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a decent rule of thumb.

In my experience, most exceptions involve either the smallest or largest "high limit" game in the room.

[mrkilla]

all you .5/1 Donks who wish to sit with me in a live 5/10 game please come to FW next weekend

100NL ...

[mosch]

[ QUOTE ]
I think online players like to think that big live games are equivalent to paltry limits online so that they can brag that they are good enough to beat the big live games. Of course, then they tell their friends that they don't have the bankroll for the big live games...

Of course, I could be FOS.

[/ QUOTE ]

Having played high-limit live games and mid-limit online, my experience is that high-limit live games are *significantly* easier than mid-limit online games.

Some of the easiest games I've ever played in were the biggest games in the room, at the time.

That said, I've never played in the stratosphere. Biggest I've played live is 300/600 limit, and ~ 35/70 uncapped pot-limit (the blind amounts are odd due to currency conversion)