Posted Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:53 pm GMT by craggoo
I have a theory I want to test out. Out of all the people here who play online poker profitably, how many of you started out playing poker at the casino compared to how many had their first poker experiences online (for real money of course). As for me, I started out at the casino and find it very difficult to succeed at online poker. My BR swings up and down a lot never really stabilizing at any point (and never really enough in my mind to cash out). Thanks
-Cragg
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Posted Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:08 pm GMT by vyni
I began online, tested the waters in play money and graduated to the real money games. I've never played holdem in a casino (yet, Sept 18th/19th I will be).
My bankroll has gone through a lot of ups and down: jump forward, slide back, jump, slide, continue.... but my forwards are bigger than my slides so it's been working out quite well. lol
Initial real money play, my slides were greater then my jumps, but I believe everyone goes through this in the begining. At this point, I've already cashed out over twice my deposits. So a shout to discouraged beginners: settle down. Every dollar you lost was a lesson, and there's other beginners out there that you should pass that lesson along to 
Posted Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:15 pm GMT by craggoo
Well i've had a lot of swings (well 3 total i guess). Take into consideration I never made a deposit at any site, I got my BR up to $250 on PP then lost it in a big downswing where i lost literally every coinflip for 2 weeks straight. The 2nd one is on AP where i got it up to about $280; same thing again a 2 week long downswing where i couldn't win no matter how far ahead I was. Finally, my most recent one on AP again... got it up as high as 420 and im currently in a week long downswing with one tiny win in the middle. It currently sits at around $170. Basically, compared to live poker where I win fairly consistently, I'm finding it very difficult to succeed consistently in online poker.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:20 am GMT by MrDarling
How do you get to play poker for real money without ever depositing?
I've never played live poker , but would love to!
As a beginner I already lost my deposit twice. So my swings are mainly downwards..
Most of the money I lost is due to...... bad play on my count.
I think online its easier to lose money because :
1. You are not really holding real money in your hand. So its far easier to want to gamble with it...
2. You play much more hands - so you're apt to have many more swings.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:31 am GMT by craggoo
To answer your question as briefly as possible Mr Darling: freeroll money.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:14 am GMT by mindgame
I played 30+ years of home games, a couple years in the casino, then dabbled online. There is so much missing from online play--in the sense of what truly constitutes a poker game, and I've posted extensively on this so I won't rehash it--that I don't really consider it poker. It's an interactive video game for money, most likely played with real people most of the time.
What's missing the most for me, though, is winning. My ability to feel the "texture" of the game, the tempi and mood of the table, simply isnt' there. My strength is my history: years of highly refined instincts that allow me to put very accurate reads on my opponents. Online I feel like a bloodhound with a bad cold. That said (and it says a lot) it still doesn't "smell" right to me.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 11:10 am GMT by MasterShake
If given the choice, it's live all the way. However living as far from regular poker games as I do, online has to fill the void between sessions. I think it helps with my technical skills like pot odds and calculating outs on the fly, recognizing the nuts quickly etc. But it's no substitute for table play.
With both online and real life play I've learned one major factor into making me a winning player. You have to have zero regard for the value of money while at the table and the HIGHEST regard for the value of money away from it. Luckily, I'm getting more and more comfortable with both concepts.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:21 pm GMT by mindgame
That last doesn't make any sense to me, Shake.
If you had no regard--zero!--for the value of money, wouldn't you call every bet? I mean the game's about money. It's no fun at all if you play without it. Fact is, when I'm in freerolls that cost me nothing, I make calls with a wtf attitude ("Okay, maybe the guy's on a stone bluff.") I play better when it costs me money. The value of money is what inspires me to pay attention and improve my game.
Now you may be the rare, purely intellectual game player who is unaffected by whether he's got $500 dollars at risk with the call or fifteen cents--maybe it's all Zen to you. I don't have such aspirations. I need the money.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:35 pm GMT by MasterShake
| mindgame wrote: | That last doesn't make any sense to me, Shake.
If you had no regard--zero!--for the value of money, wouldn't you call every bet? I mean the game's about money. It's no fun at all if you play without it. Fact is, when I'm in freerolls that cost me nothing, I make calls with a wtf attitude ("Okay, maybe the guy's on a stone bluff.") I play better when it costs me money. The value of money is what inspires me to pay attention and improve my game.
Now you may be the rare, purely intellectual game player who is unaffected by whether he's got $500 dollars at risk with the call or fifteen cents--maybe it's all Zen to you. I don't have such aspirations. I need the money. |
Unless I'm drunk when I'm playing (which is rare) I almost always go into every game the same, whether it's for $5 or $200. Those chips are my points, and I want to employ my best game to score as many points as I can. But before I get there I have to make sure I know how much I'm willing to play for and I'm only getting into a game that is within my bankroll.
So I don't treat the chips as a real life dollar amount, but that doesn't mean I don't employ strategy and want to win by playing my best. Even in freerolls I avoid taking unnecessary chances that I wouldn't take in a real money game.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 12:53 pm GMT by Ryan231
I guess I started out playing online to make cash, I really started poker playing with friends for 20$ little home games but I was really bad at that point. Live poker and casino poker are very different IMO, live poker you really find players that have a low regard for money a lot more often in my experience. Online poker is full of people like myself (young, smart, attentive) that have read books and that are actually playing strong poker. In live games these players exist but often they are playing higher stakes or they are just sprinkled in here and there.
I think I've played most of the range of limits holdem games offer both live and online and the level of skill is massive between casino player and online play when comparing the stakes. I've personally made like 80% of my profit from playing SnGs (9 or 18 handed). I've played a ton of cash games as well but never really got a solid footing and wasn't able to sit down and consistantly beat the game like I can in SnGs (10+1s / 20+2s and 30+3s). I've played up to 5/10 limit and every NL game from NL10 to NL400 and I guess I'm just not cut out to be a great cash player at this stage of things, I can make money playing ring but not nearly as consistant as I would like.
The biggest thing for me personally to win at online poker is to actually try my best, sounds kinda stupid I guess but a lot of the time I'll just fire up a SnG and not even really try and piss away 20 or 30$. The biggest thing for me to win at the casino is to remember these people are donks and to not loosen up and play stupid, just play a solid ABC type poker game.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 1:13 pm GMT by eyemin
I used to play dealers choice with friends about 25 years ago. As for playing Holdem I started online 1.5 years ago. I live not too far from the Niagara casino but have never played live. The reason for this is bonuses. I make a good chunk of money from bonuses so it is hard for me to play unless I am working on a bonus. Online poker is like a part time job for me. It's extra money I really did'nt expect to get when I started this.
Posted Wed Sep 06, 2006 2:47 pm GMT by MrDarling
I agree with Shake , That is why I do much better in tournaments or S&G (regardless if they are paid or freeroll) All I'm holding is chips. I already lost the entry fee now I'm playing to win, I have nothing else to lose and the chips are just chips..
In ring games, I sit with my own money. It is still mine. if I don't bet I can't lose it. So I make smaller bet when I'm not sure. My bluff are smaller and I'm more afraid to follow reads and make hugh calls when I feel I'm a head.
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