New to online and seem to suck at it. What to do?

[surillious]

I've been playing low limit hold'em games for several years (1-2 up to 5-10). I have always played well and I just recently discovered online poker. I kept hearing about it and finally decided to give it a try. Long story short I lost what money I put into the site, and have been wary to play online since. I never have had any problems playing live so I'm at a loss as to what to do. Has anyone else had any trouble transitioning from live play to online poker? If so how has it been going since?

[Alobar]

live play at the same limit is alot easier. If your a losing player you will lose more online faster because you are forced with more decisions to make (more hands are dealt per hour).

[sthief09]

Is it possible that you didn't put enough money in your account? If you put in $50 and are playing at 1/2, and you lose a little, you are more likely to go on tilt, because losing $25 suddenly seems like a lot.

[asdf1234]

Even the best players have losing streaks. Unless you dropped something like $1200+ at 2/4, it's likely just a bad run of cards. I lost my first $100 deposit at Party playing .50/1.00, then I put in $50 more and rolled it into $2500.

[Chris Daddy Cool]

I think bankroll is a larger consideration in on-line play than casino play for one reason: speed.
Your typical $100 buy-in at a 2/4 table at the casino may last you the whole night, but given the speed of online play, you can be up hundreds or down hundreds three times as fast and before you know it, you're down to your final $10, wondering where it all went.
My suggestion is to deposit more money into the account and play lower limits than what you normally play at and absolutely DO NOT jump limits until you have the bankroll to do so even if you are good enough to play there because one bad session and it could be all over.
Case in point, when I started online, I started on a roll playing .50/1.00 and 1/2.. but then I tried 5/10 because I had enough money for my typical casino buy-in and my account got crippled in a hurry and thus learned my lesson.

The main thing is don't start too fast, make your account last awhile and before you know it, it'll be where you want it to be, then you can think of moving up.

[MicroBob]

you also have to realize that 5/10 online is typically going to have much better players than 5/10 live.

i think most people equate .50/1 online to be about the same as 3/6 live.
1/2 online may be kind of like 4/8 live.
and so on.

since you are unfamiliar with the "feel" of online play i would recommend starting at the 1/2 level or .50/1.
you'll get a better idea of how much more quickly you can go up or down a few BB's compared with the slower pace of live play.


you say you lost your whole buy-in pretty quick after joining. since you don't say how much you lost or what level you were playing at it is hard to offer too many more ideas on your situation.

[Stu Pidasso]

[ QUOTE ]
have been wary to play online since.

[/ QUOTE ]

If your worried the sites are rigged, go play .05/.10 cent games at Paradise or Stars. You probably won't get hurt emotionally or financially playing at those levels. If you play long enough, and you are a winning player, you become confident the sites are not juiced. As your confidence and BR grow, you can move up through the limits.

Stu

[Homer]

What limit do you usually play live?

How much did you lose online, at what limit and at what site?

-- Homer

[surillious]

Lately I've been playing a lot of 3-6 live. I lost about 100 dollars online @ Ultimate Bet playing the 1-2 tables.

[Homer]

In my experience, 1/2 online is comparable to 3/6 live, maybe slightly more difficult. Losing 50 BB's is not a tragedy and could easily be the result of short-term variance. However, it could also be the result of bad play. The solution is to start posting specific hands here to see if your decision making has been sound.

-- Homer

[Stu Pidasso]

[ QUOTE ]
I lost about 100 dollars online @ Ultimate Bet playing the 1-2 tables.

[/ QUOTE ]

You lost 50 big bets. Thats a normal downswing and should be no cause for concern if you are a winning player.

The 1-2 game at UB is probably considerably tougher than the $3-6 live that you are used to.

Contemplating that you are not a winning player will serve you better than contemplating that the major sites are rigged.

Stu

[devinthedude]

Hey man, losing 50BB is going to happen, just like others have said. I've lost 50BB in one session before. If your game is solid, you will be fine.

Post some hands and let the posters on the board evaluate them.

[harboral]

I was in the same spot as you about 6 months ago: Long-time winner in live games, loser at online and even wondering if the games were on the level.

First month I played just like my usual live games and lost.

Second month I tightened up, realizing that although the other players were weak, I had not taken the time to really see which were loose/passive, weak, strong-aggressive etc. I tried harder to learn the players (which is tougher than a live game because they come and go so quickly and you may never see them again) and I also started calling more hands down when I had a pair or what MIGHT be the best even though someone else was leading or there was a raise on the end. This resulted in my breaking even for the month.

Third month I found this forumn - and got much more aggressive with hands - reraising with top 10 hands preflop and especially raising on the flop with a solid hand. I had always slowplayed more, being less aggressive on the flop, even with draws, but seeing that you can flop an Ace-high straight or even a flush and get three callers to a bet - I started betting them. /images/graemlins/blush.gif I posted my poorly played hands here and read every post that discussed the play of hands............an invaluable resoure. /images/graemlins/grin.gif This resulted in a 3.25/BB per hour win.

Since that time I have learned to be very selective about hands I play and position I play them from. I am continuing to learn online - and have moved from .50/$1 to $3/6 over six months.........still winning about 3BB/hour. You can do it too. AL

[lostinthought]

Start small at the .5/1 tables at party poker (ultimate bet is much tougher). Be sure to at least get a sign up bonus, or even better, an affiliate that can kick you back part of your rake.. buy pokertracker.(pokertracker.com) And be sure to read and re-read lee jone's WLLH, Sklansky's TOP, and S&M's HEPFAP.
Build up, and keep a 300BB bankroll (exception - when you first start - you can probably start with $100 and not need another deposit). Read the small stakes forum, and post your problem hands. You'll be winning online soon.

Note - I went the opposite direction. Although I played some in person (with friends, 10$ buyin, etc.) I really started playing seriously online. The few times that I have visited a cardroom, I've had no problems in the limits I normally play in, in fact they seem real easy.

good luck

[tripdad]

i think just reading other posted hands on this site will help, too. it will give you a good idea of decent starting hands, and needed aggression at low limit online play. my guess is you are too loose/passive to make money online, but if it is fun playing, keep playing.

when i started in November, i was break even for a month until i learned not to play certain hands. now, just a few months later, from only $200.00 to start, i am a Thousandaire! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

cheers!