Anyone else much much better live than online?

Spaggy · #1 12-11-2006, 05:07 PM

Mods: if this belongs elsewhere please move it.

I realized while writing the trip report I posted that I am a much much better live player than online player. I find that online I tend to pay very little attention to the players, and go pretty much based on odds and 1/2nd level thinking. This most likely explains why I'm a break-even player at best online. I also tend not to have the same level of interest online. When I play live, I find myself doing a lot more hand analysis, higher level thinking, observation, and situational plays. Live playing comes almost naturally to me. I pick my spots a lot better, and also incorporate far more advanced strategy.

I read about/observe players who are very good online players but don't fair well in live games, but I rarely see anything on the opposite spectrum. My question is this:

Does anyone else do infinitely better in live games than online? If so, have you done anything to improve your online game, or have you just stuck with what you're good at. I would like to advance online play, because having all games going all the time is pretty convenient, but I'm not sure how to go about that. Please discuss.

Rick305 · #2 12-11-2006, 05:19 PM

live play is softer

adenosine · #3 12-11-2006, 05:23 PM

I've found that I do better live, but only because my live opponents are much worse. I use online to improve my game, and live when I want to just take somebody's money. I've had my live game dry up when all the better live players were at one table, and I did similarly to online.

PantsOnFire · #4 12-11-2006, 05:25 PM

First of all, I have found that at the same stakes, live players are generally worse players than online players (I mean low and medium stakes, I don't have experience at high stakes). You have to remember that in a casino, it's not unusual for some tourist to go from slots to blackjack to a holdem table just because it's there.

I personally find it easier to focus in a B&M cardroom for a variety of reasons so that helps me (and probably you too). There are also more tells at a live table which I do use.

I'm willing to bet that many online players go live and give too much credit to their opponents. A good online player could stay online and go to micro limits and probably get frustrated by the play and not do well. This might be what happens to these good online players who go live.

Spaggy · #5 12-11-2006, 05:25 PM

I agree 100% that live players are exponentially worse than online players, but my point is somewhat different. What I'm really getting at is the focus/interaction of live play vs. online. I don't play high stakes live, and I assume there is a huge difference. What I want to know is what any successful live and online players did to their game make it reflect their skills. Maybe it's just me, and I'm sure the internet is full of people like me, but I rarely think past "What do I have" and "What does he/she probably have" when playing online. On the flipside, in live games I am constantly doing math, analyzing betting patterns, watching for noticeable reads, etc etc. A lot of it has to do with the anonymity/facelessness of the internet games I'm sure, but I'm sure it goes past that.

PorkchopDJG · #6 12-11-2006, 05:53 PM

Spaggy you are 100% right that because you are doing these things like figuring math, analyzing betting patterns and reads you will be way better than 80% of average B&M players because most never do any of that. Most of them where I play 4/8, 6/12 LHE in MN love to cold call raises and rarely ever fold if the hit any peice of the flop or have any type of draw.

I am a pretty tight/aggressive player and anyone that sits with me more for a while will learn that so when I raise from early position you would probably fold enless you have a very good hand but where I play live they don't. Instead you are more likely to get 3 or 4 callers at least.

I also play 1/2, 2/4 online and when I raise most will just fold because they respect an early position raise. I have found that raises, semibluffs and checkraises work more online where live that stuff doesn't work and you just wait for huge flops and then VALUE BET aggressively.

Javanewt · #7 12-11-2006, 05:59 PM

I'm not being sarcastic, but why not just try to play the same way online? Tape some charts up next to your screen, take notes on players, etc.

jba · #8 12-11-2006, 06:02 PM

I am definitely the same way. I'm very ADD, and I have a huge problem playing online because of it, especially now that I rarely encounter interesting situations. Live is so slow/boring that the most fun thing to do is usually watch the game and try to read hands in progress. Online I'm usually surfing or watching TV or something.

UncleKraut · #9 12-11-2006, 06:18 PM

Value betting is the most important concept in live play IMO, since nobody EVER folds.

Just a couple days ago some dude called me down for $400+ with Q8 on a Q high flop.

HOWMANY · #10 12-11-2006, 07:15 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I read about/observe players who are very good online players but don't fair well in live games, but I rarely see anything on the opposite spectrum. My question is this:

[/ QUOTE ]

Nobody that is a very good online player would do poorly live. A lot of people that beat a certain level live would get absolutely destroyed at the same level online.