Why Live Poker Players Often Struggle Playing Online Poker

Poker players who come from a background of Brick & Mortar card-rooms that decide to make the switch to online poker need to realize that the two games are very different. I’m not diminishing online poker in any way, or saying one form is more skillful, they are simply different. Online poker and live poker are as different as Limit and No Limit, or Texas Holdem and 7-Card-Stud.

One of the biggest killers of potential poker careers is ego, and there is no better time to leave your ego at the door than when you decide to take up a new game or structure, and switching from live poker to online poker is one of the biggest switches players will ever have to deal with.

Besides the typical topics like the speed of the game, the ability to multi-table, along with the mental stresses of boredom and steaming, one of the major differences is that online poker requires a more analytical approach to the game. Live poker players can often get by with a good understanding of strategy and basic knowledge of the odds, because they can see their opponents, and pick up tells and other clues from what they see, hear, and do.

When a live poker player is first confronted with an online poker table they tend to believe that everyone is using the same skill-set, not realizing that many poker players now grow-up with online poker. Against hard-line online poker players who use tracking software, have huge databases on opponents, and know the odds and percentages for just about every scenario down to 5 decimal places live poker players will find themselves at a severe disadvantage.

The best thing an experienced live poker player can do when they first make the switch is to think of it as a totally new beginning where they are starting from square one. Just like a top notch Limit Omaha 8 player wouldn’t expect to dominate a No Limit Holdem table when they first take up the game, a live poker player shouldn’t expect the same type of success that they have had in the online poker arena when they first start playing the game.

Players who are willing to check their ego at the door and actually attempt to learn the online poker game from the ground up will find their trials much easier and shorter than players who assume that their live poker skills will simply translate to online poker success.

Where this is most notable is if they decide to compete at the same stakes they play at Brick & Mortar card-rooms. Because of the huge variety of stakes online poker offers, you can expect to be confronted with the same level of ability from your opponents at about 1/10 the stakes! Not ½ the stakes; a full 1/10 the stakes!!! So, if you play $20/$40 Limit Holdem at a Brick & Mortar casino you can expect the same level of competition from a $2/$4 online game.