We can talk about the online poker world vs. the live poker world for days and days it seems, but in all honesty, there’s no better way to explain the key differences than to just get in-depth with the strategy that you should take for both types. This breaks down even more specifically to either cash games or tournaments, but here today we are going to look at playing live poker against online poker in general, and explain what the biggest differences are. Obviously there are going to be many situations where things are played in similar ways, but also there will be many ways that things are different. Let’s breakdown some strategy and things that you can do in each type of game.
Tracking Stats Online
Not all online poker sites allow for things like this, but there are ways that you can actually track statistics from players online. If this is available with whatever online poker site that you use, then you should absolutely take advantage of it. This can give you information such as how many hands a player is playing pre-flop, how often they are raising before the flop, and how active and aggressive they are. This can help you base your decisions on how you should play each specific player, and it will also help to point out which players don’t play a ton of hands, so therefore could be holding a pretty strong hand when they do get into the action. It makes life a whole lot easier than having to keep notes on every single player at the table, and can allow you to focus on the action on the table, and even multi-table more frequently if you have access to this information.
Reading Opponents in Live Poker
One key difference that stands out in live poker against online poker that you can gain an edge when playing against opponents simply by watching their play. Not only can you watch how they play in a hand against you, but you can watch the moves that others make during play against the rest of the table. Some of the best poker players are the ones who can pay attention to the tendencies and give aways of other players at the table. This isn’t something that you’ll be able to notice in most situations immediately, but what you will find is that doing your research on a player and how they play could potentially pay off when you get into a heads-up situation against them later on.
Players do many things, including change up their bet sizes based on their hand, and also have things that they’ll do when bluffing or when they have a big hand. That may seem like a big myth that you hear about in poker movies, but there are definitely times where players will do things that stand out when they’re bluffing, including possibly just not being able to sit still or something along those lines at times. All of these are just examples of things to watch for, and while you won’t have anything specific immediately, just keep your eyes on your opponents and watch what they do.
Patience Gets Noticed in Live Poker
When you’re sitting back and waiting to play hands, remaining patient and not getting crazy, people will notice. What this will likely mean is one of two things. The first is that you are far more likely to get away with a bluff if someone at the table thinks that you’re only playing big hands (especially if they say it outloud). The other thing that this will do, is make it so that you get respect from the table. It may be players being worried about your play so they don’t attempt to make crazy moves over the top of you, or make it so that you seem to come across as a player who knows what they’re doing and are “good” at poker, especially if you can win a hand or two throughout your patient poker sessions.
Live vs. online poker are two completely different worlds, but don’t forget that it’s still just poker! It’s worth noting that online poker is played a whole lot faster, so you have to realize that bankroll management is going to be very important. Don’t just go throwing money all over the table or site, and remain patient throughout the action. If you take a bad beat online, you’ll have plenty of time to get your money back. Take a bad beat in live poker? Don’t let it show, because your opponents will all be sure to notice!