What is better? Online hold'em or BM hold'em?

[bob2007]

I"ve been playing online for almost a year now. Winning a decent amount.

How does BM games compare? I'll be playing 4/8 in a casino near Toronto.

I'd believe the games should be looser than online since people in casinos are usually gamblers who want ot socialize and just have fun.

[SittingBull]

Hold'em,U will have NO problem beating 4/8 BM Hold'em. However,if U haven't played against "real people" for awhile,u will probably be intimidated by face to face confrontation.
I know that in the Gulfport,Miss. area,the 4/8 players are inferior to the 3/6 Online players. They play like the .05/1.00 online players do at the Partypoker site.
HappyPokering, [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]
SittingBull

[Cosimo]

B&M play is generally looser; table selection is harder. The rake/etc is almost universally higher than any online casino. The cardroom nearest to me charges up to 20% (including the jackpot drop).

There are a ton of factors that make play different in a B&M casino. Here's the ones that affect the game the most:
* Rude players, including smokers. Beware; it might put you on tilt.
* You have to worry about your own tells
* You can read other people's tells
* If you aren't comfortable in a casino, your game will be off. This includes smoke, chairs, drinks, temperature, and other environmental factors, in addition to being face-to-face with your opponents, worrying about the dealer, etc.
* Games play much more slowly

A number of books cover the difference between B&M and online. Hellmuth's book and Serious Poker are two; there's prolly others, but I can't think of any others off the top of my head.

-Cosimo

[JoeyT]

4/8 near Toronto? I assume you mean Casino Rama.. correct me if I'm wrong.

The players at that particular cardroom are clueless at 4/8. Everyone plays with almost all white chips, so the pots get deceivingly large really quickly, and people will chase with ANYTHING. The game should be a fair bit looser than your online game, and obviously it'll have a steeper rake. The games at Rama are very beatable though, especially if you've been doing well online.

Have a blast and play your game, and you'll take home some great stories and most likely some extra dough.

[crockpot]

based on my experience, here's how the holdem games compare:

- you generally play about two to three times as many hands per hour online than at a BM.
- typical flop percentages for 3/6 are about 35-40 online, and about 55-65 in BM.
- the rake, combined with jackpot drop, averaged out to be about twice as much in BM. (this may vary for you)

also, you can't exactly jump out of your seat in delight when you finally get dealt AA in a casino. though you should protect your cards in any BM, be careful not to give away clues. one of my friends, when we hit a cardroom last month, was only putting chips on his cards when he intended to play the hand, otherwise getting ready to muck them.

other than that, you should make a decent amount playing there as long as you know what you're doing. if you can find a place with only a 5% rake or similar drop charge, consider yourself lucky.

[bob2007]

Ya. I will be playing at Rama. Thanks for the info guys.

I'm pretty sure I can handle the tilt. I've played a lot of poker over the last year - but never against real life players. I used to play 5-10 and under at pacific, but the games haven't been as good these days. I've just started playing at party. I'm only 18 right now, so still gotta wait a bit - 5 months.

I play extremely tight, so I don't know what kinda reactions I'll get in a live game. I'll probably have to loosen up. In general I play with little emotion even at home, in preparation for a live game. Do people wear sunglasses when they play (wouldn't mind doin that, might help)?