question for the pros -- not obvious to me

Here's a question that's nagging me because I'm only able to play online. Can't get out to a casino.


Most of the posts in this forum are from pros, or semi-pros, playing in B&M casinos. Why would you play there as opposed to online. In a B&M casino the rake is higher, the operating costs are higher (tipping waitresses, going out for a drinks, food, etc), and the number of games are far fewer per hour than online? Playing postive EV, with more games nets you more money right??


Are the games that much softer than online? Or, is it just a preference? Or, do you do both?


Or are the online games just to prone to "weirdness"?


Many thanks.

I don't play online because I fear collusion. It would be just too easy for one guy to set up two or three different accounts and play several seats in one game. This would impart a tremendous advantage in most games, especially hold-em where he could simply fold all but the best hand. I realize that online card rooms try to detect this but who knows if they are always successful.

With a brick-and-mortar cardroom, I can rack up my chips and pick them up, carry them to the cage, and trade them in for cash, right away with no delays.


Even with PayPal, it takes a lot more time and effort to turn online casino winnings into cash.

In a very real sense, online poker was my first video-game addiction. And hopefully my last! I had to quit or live as a hermit.


Tommy

1) I believe on-line games are an easy haven for cheats.

2) I like to be around other human beings.

3) I can read people well, and need to see them in order to make proper decisions.

4) I know I can get my money in a cardroom, but who do I call if I can't get it from an on-line room?

5) Good players can easily beat the rake, tips, etc.

6) On-line just plain sucks.

i found benefits on both sides...both online and BM rooms complimented each other. kinda like cross training to a degree...


there are many aspects of the game you cant get online...online you can get the patterns down better and the speed, tendencies. but BM rooms you can really see the reactions. there are more senses working. which is one reason i dont think ill ever wear headphones...youd be suprised at what clues you can hear...even a breath or a subtle grunt...


after playing online for awhile, it made my decision making process very quick...this stemmed form playing 2-3 tables at once...so very rarely will i stop and think when its my turn...i have a few plays ready depending on the action...which also gives me some time to get my opponents patterns, mannerisms down.


here's kind of a different example...

bear with me...


there was a concept about picking up chicks to where if you get there rythym and mannerisims, and mimic them a little, they tend to respond better, but you can also read them a little better. you can apply this a little to the table. then when someone does something thats out of sync with their normal play, you can pick up on this subtlety and figure now's the time to figure what theyre up to...make sense?


i also like to play in a more human atmosphere, and the interaction. the free meals dont hurt either. haha


just some thoughts...


b

Breakneck this would actually be much tougher than you think because a good sites software (like paradise) can detect if someone is playing from the same server with multiple accounts. For example if you had two kids playing in a college dorm room from seperate computers there software would be able to detect this.


Good luck,


Shawn

If a kid can't defeat that problem, they likely won't be able to use it to their advantage.


Two smart college kids can figure out how to circumvent this problem. Just get accounts with two ISPs. Or use one ISP with dynamic IP addresses. So many work-arounds -- Paradise and any other online game will never find out about two, three, four or five players in the same room.


Also, I heard that Paradise has knowingly let two players play from the same location in the same tournament. The players told people at the table just to be on the up-and-up. Hah!


Didn't want to debate merits of online. I really wanted to get some insight into why someone would play in a B&M casino. Just wanted to point out it is easy to have two people in the same room on the same online table.

"there was a concept about picking up chicks to where if you get there rythym and mannerisims, and mimic them a little, they tend to respond better"


Interesting. I hear this is an old psychotherapy trick, and I have a journalist friend who uses this technique during interviews. She claims it works. I've tried it during job interviews and other times when I'm hoping to get a good response from my interlocutor.


I'd never thought of trying it at the poker table.


Regards,


Troy

the only thing is on a poker table..it's more about observing than mimicing. but you get the idea...if you know their comfort zone, youll know what they're comfortable doing in certain situations. but youll also know when theyre out of that zone...


b

My guess would be that "pros" tend to play higher limit games; and there is a higher risk of collaboration, multiple-seating and other types of cheating at on-line sites. Also, keeping larger bankrolls at sites without sparkling reputations is risky.

Of course, this is coming from someone looking for a good 2/4 or 3/6 game /images/smile.gif