Internet vs. Live Play

CollinEstes · #1 04-27-2005, 04:55 PM

I am guessing most of the people here play online or both. But recently I have given up on internet and just played at the Boat in Lake Charles LA. I have been playing for about 2 years but only playing well for about 6 months. I play 3-6-12 and find it to be WAY WAY easier than playing online. I make about 200 a week, playing 1-3 sessions a week.

Just curious on anyones thoughts on this, and do you think there is a reason why I can consistently play well and win live but not on the internet. I wish I could play better online because I have to drive an hour from Texas to get to the Casino.

pryor15 · #2 04-27-2005, 05:06 PM

probably you're getting better reads live, simple as that. i find i'm a moderately winning player online (~2BB/100), but i have to have a pretty bad night in a NL live game to come out behind or even just up a little. generally i at least double my money, b/c it's so much easier to know where you are in a hand.

CollinEstes · #3 04-27-2005, 05:11 PM

Yeah you are right it is easier to read. I probably pay more attention live too. Plus most the players in Lake Charles are like playing the people in the pictures of Mike Caro's book. I mean every single person looks off the the table or immediately at their chips if they have or make their hand.

Not to mention the double check on a three card straight or flush flop to let you know they haven't made it yet.

MicroBob · #4 04-27-2005, 05:24 PM

Well...obviously you know something about live reads and have had some success with that.
Also...maybe you are playing a bunch of people who do not properly adjust to a 3-6-12 game (as opposed to just a 6-12 game).

But you haven't played THAT much live I suspect so there is a sample-size issue here.
If you have played 100 hours of live...at 30 hands/hour then that's a whopping 3000 hands live which is not nearly enough to determine whether your perceived success playing live is the real deal.

The rake in Louisiana is particularly bad as I recall.
I don't know how it is for your game in Lake Charles...but I suspect the bad rake makes it unlikely that you will continue to have a great win-rate live.
Factor in the BBJ drop and the occasional dealer tip and you have a lot to overcome on a daily basis.

I think it's dangerous to think of oneself as "a good live player...but a bad internet player." most of the time it just means that someone is just running well.

Any winning player should be able to beat the low-limit online games.

CollinEstes · #5 04-27-2005, 05:30 PM

Good Points. I will have to keep at it and see. I have been playing live for about 4 months solidly. The rake and tips do make it harder. I in no way consider myself to be a good player, I know at the NL there I would probably get chewed up and spit out, but I think at that particular game I play pretty solid and make alot of times I can't catch any cards and am still able to grind out leaving with more than I came with. Anyways, thanks for your thoughts, I will keep on trying.

zuluking · #6 04-27-2005, 06:33 PM

If you can't beat the 3/6/12 game in Lake Charles, then you have no business playing poker. Easiest freaking game to beat on planet Earth. Its all about the tells and reads. So many, they might as well play with their cards face up. That's why you have trouble moving to the internet game. I had the same problem. Poker Tracker helped ALOT. Get it. Move up to 10/20 live in LC when you can, its even better.