B&M only, enough experience?

Is it PRACTICLE to become a great player these days without taking advantage of internet poker? ( I hope the answer is yes )

[Claunchy]

Practical.

If you play online, you can play more hands per hour, can play many tables at once, and the rake is usually lower. But, a 2/4 online game plays about like 5/10-10/20 at a casino. Online games are generally tougher.

If you play at the same casino all the time, like I do, you'll eventually realize you're playing against a lot of the same people all the time. These people will eventually learn your style of play (assuming they're not complete donks), and your winrate will suffer. Online, unless you're playing really high, you'll face a much larger variety of opponents.

Anyway, long story short, of course it's possible to go pro playing live, or online, or both. They're just different.

It's practical if you live somewhere like LA or Vegas where you have a larger variety of opponents and more fish.

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.

[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.

[/ QUOTE ]

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.

[Rootabager]

Playing online you will see every situation possible multiple times. In a BM casino you just dont play enough hands.

[surfinillini]

depends on the limits and game...

[lefty rosen]

Case in point my worst beat live was quad nines vs aces over. Online I have lost with that a bunch of times and have lost with quad kings to a straight flush. All this in 3 and half years......... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

[Percula]

Yes and no.

As has already been so well pointed out, the numbers simply do not compare.

But there is more to poker than the number of hands one plays. You will never have the amount of information online in a single hand that you will live. You will never see a player hand shake when they bet online, you will never see their posture change when they hit trips, etc, etc.

For situational experience there is no better teacher than the internet. For reads, there is no better teacher than live.

The answer to your question really depends on what your goals are. If you want to maximize your results, you should likely add Internet play to your playing time. If there's a specific income level you want to reach, can do so playing exclusively live, and are happy with what you are doing...that's a judgment call.

Personally, I think that a mix of B&M and online play is the best way to become a well-rounded player. As noted above, you get to play more hands online, which means more experience, while live play teaches you more about people.