my game: live vs online

sharkscopeaholic · #1 10-05-2007, 12:00 AM

Does anyone else wonder if they play the same technical game live as they do online? I play much more on the internet and then when i play live i feel like i dont play half as well. I dont feel like people staring at me bothers me much or any tells like that but i find myself not able to make the same bets/folds when i should. I've only played maybe 20-30 live hours compared to 20,000+ cash game hands and 1000's of tournies online. Does anyone else feel they dont play very well at one or the other? Again, looking at someone and seeing what they do/say or tells i give off really has no effect on me and i dont think i give many off since i really dont move or talk much.

aaokwitme · #2 10-05-2007, 12:24 AM

Best thing I can say is slow down at live. Your attention is spread wider cause there is more info (verbal hand and body tells)live and you need to keep track of the pot and other stacks yourself. Live games seem like slow mo after online and the best way to adjust is to take your time with every hand, and make all the observations you can.

Gap23Razor · #3 10-17-2007, 03:49 AM

perhaps your natural style is better suited to the online game,

i think people are more cautious and looser live than online...

after all, one has a time commitment in getting to and from the game, (getting up, dressed, travel in, wait to be seated) so people want to get some play for the trouble and are less likely to play risky early in a session...

also, because of the slow pace relative to online, and one can play only on game at a time, people will place more loose as they get bored sitting around...

and lastly, one's failures are more visible live...online few people know what you look and you will likely not encounter them in person unless you make a special effort..thus the anonomus nature online allows one to be more reckless

if you think your game is better fit to online, perhaps you can alter your live play to include more limp ins with suited connectors & low pair plus focus on hitting monster pots, doing less bluffing particularly when in a full ring low stakes game...then revert back to your online game when the table goes shorthanded--down to 5 or fewer players...

Rek · #4 10-17-2007, 04:18 AM

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Again, looking at someone and seeing what they do/say or tells i give off really has no effect on me and i dont think i give many off since i really dont move or talk much.

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Don't bet on it. So many subtle tells - it might just be the way you pick up your chips, the slightly shaking hand, the flaring nostrils of Chris Moneymaker (still don't know it that was true), the way you look at your stack, etc, etc, - there are millions of tells.

Albert Moulton · #5 10-24-2007, 02:19 PM

I play better live.

You probably play too many hands, bluff too much, play out of position too much, and overvalue "deception" plays when most of the players won't notice what you're doing enough to be deceived in later hands.

In general, at most live games, you need to show down the best hand. Often, in late position, you might be able to bluff at small pots, but big pots will just about always require big hands (sets or better). Overplaying 1-pair in a 100bb-200bb live game is generally spew since you end up against 2-pair a lot more since players are looser in raised pots live than online. The trick is to be the guy with the set when some other guy is stacking off with 2-pair.

Rek · #6 10-25-2007, 03:58 AM

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The trick is to be the guy with the set when some other guy is stacking off with 2-pair.

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Nice trick. How about the trick of being the guy with the flush against the straight or even better that trick of being the guy with quads against the guy with the full house.

inyourface · #7 10-25-2007, 05:17 AM

Damn sharkscopeaholic, I was going to start a thread about this for me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I find this too, I just can't pull off those moves live that I can do online. If I feel someone is bluffing live but I also have rags I'll just give up instead of taking control. Stuff like that.

I am definately a tellbox live but then again I've only played about 20 tourneys and am lucky to get paid off on my good hands becasue I look like im sweting with the nuts like I sweat with crap lol

It's a tough situation to be in which can be frustrating for me

Rek · #8 10-25-2007, 05:33 AM

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I find this too, I just can't pull off those moves live that I can do online. If I feel someone is bluffing live but I also have rags I'll just give up instead of taking control. Stuff like that.

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This is one of the reasons why you see so many more suckouts online. A click of the mouse and if you lose you move on. You don't have all those eyes looking at you thinking "what a donk".

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I am definately a tellbox live but then again I've only played about 20 tourneys and am lucky to get paid off on my good hands becasue I look like im sweting with the nuts like I sweat with crap lol

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This is not a tell then. If you sweat with the nuts and crap then thats ok. How can I know what this sweat means. Also it is self-perceived unless someone has told you. Signs you think you are giving off, you may not be. Yet other small things you are not aware of may be a huge tell - and what idiot is going to let you know.

Sounds like you are just a little uncomfortable live. It should ease as you play more. Similar stakes live are much softer than the same stakes online. No question!

Albert Moulton · #9 10-25-2007, 10:51 AM

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The trick is to be the guy with the set when some other guy is stacking off with 2-pair.

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Nice trick. How about the trick of being the guy with the flush against the straight or even better that trick of being the guy with quads against the guy with the full house.

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I've noticed that the live players I sit with play a lot more starting hands in reaised post, like 57o, for example. If you play a lot of semi-connected hands, you end up with 2-pair more often than a straight. And so these looser players who play 2-pair like it's a set will often stack somebody with AA/KK/QQ who thinks an overpair is worth their stack. So, the "trick" here is to play better starting hands in better position, and be willing to fold overpairs. It's really not much of a trick.

GinaSD · #10 10-25-2007, 11:32 AM

I'm a live player trying to convert to online play, and admittedly I'm being crushed. I speculate much more in live play, because I can see the player and have a much easier time when I can incorporate their tells into my decision making. There is also something about me looking very nonthreatening (like your local librarian) that tempts live players to want to run over me- and gives me great implied odds should my hands hit.

So far I'm still struggling between the two poker worlds. Hope you resolve the two soon!