[JohnnyHumongous]

[ QUOTE ]
I would have thought a live game would have more experienced players, making it tougher. I understand theres probably more opportunity to make MORE money online considering how fast and how many tables at a time you can play, but, I want to evolve my game. I'm worried that I cannot compete with the amount of experience, in the form of hands seen, all of the online players may hold over me.

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Yeah, but their experience is at 30 hands an hour, a few hours per week (unless they are full-time pros). Guys who have played for 15 years and have played a lot still don't have as much gameplay experience as an internet jockey gets in a year or two.

Just for fun let's run the numbers: "Bill" is a successful executive earning in the mid 6-figures. He likes to drive to Atlantic City and play some high stakes poker. He tries to play every weekend he can, but of course he can't go every single weekend so he ends up going on average 40 weeks per year. When he goes he averages 15 hours of play for the weekend. This means he puts in a LOT of time gambling. A typical Atlantic City high-limit regular may not play this much, but for the benefit of the doubt we'll use these numbers.

That works out to 600 hours per year x 15 years x 30 hands per hour = 270K hands of poker. Over those 15 years he has played most of his time at 40/80 because he likes high limit games and that is frequently the highest game running in AC. 40/80 plays like 10/20 or lower on the internet.

Now take an internet jockey 4-tabling 5/10 and 10/20 (comparable limits). Because he can play whenever he wants from the comfort of his own home, he racks up 20 hours a week (more if he's a student or unemployed). 20 hours x 400 hands per hour x 48 weeks (since online poker is so easily accessible he can play every week except for some vacation time) = 384K hands of poker. This is 42% more poker than the 15-year AC regular. Both have full-time day jobs.

And the guy on the internet probably won't spend the whole year at 10/20... he'll try 20/40, 30/60, or even higher, levels where the competition is much tougher on average than 40/80 at Atlantic City.

All in all you can create poker masters online in the blink of an eye, with huge levels of experience relative to B&M regulars.