A theoretical problem with online poker...

[PokerFink]

he works within a bankroll he can afford, and he thinks about the way you or i would think about buying a case of beer. he feels the expense is justfied given the satisfaction he gets fom playing.

I think that's a phenominal analogy.

There are several reasons why online is tougher than live at equal stakes. I think one of them is that it is tougher to trick yourself into thinking you are a winning player, or "about even." However, I don't think this will ever stop the fish from playing.

I think the entertainment factor is what brings most fish in. It's also why live games are fishier, because there is far more entertainment playing drunk in a casino with your buddies than clicking online.

[elmitchbo]

i just read the brown thumb post. that's unbelievable. the thought of just throwing money away like that makes me sick. i don't know how people do it. but that's where the fishy money comes from.... people who know they lose, and know that the way they play has no chance of success, and are still willing to play!!! to me that makes no sense at all... but like i said earlier, for many people it's not about trying to win. it's just about the action.

it really is an eye opener into the way people think. too many people here think that every bad poker player tries really hard to improve his game and get better, because that's what we all do. or that poker players don't know how bad they really are(which IS true many times). tons of people that suck know they suck, and they're cool with it.

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]


It is not a theoretical problem, it is real.
The game will get tougher once the market gets fully penetrated.

Right. That's why the games are so tough in Vegas.

[/ QUOTE ]

The biggest difference is that when a fish plays B&M poker in Las Vegas, he's usually not keeping a log to see how much he loses at the poker table. He's also going out to eat, seeing shows and gambling on other games. Occasionally, he'll have a winning session, and he probably can delude himself into thinking he's about even or slightly ahead at the poker table.

Online, there is no such delusion. When his account runs dry, it's a cold hard fact that he lost all of it playing poker.