Why is online poker so hard – how to swim with the sharks
This is a question I hear all the time from my students and players I run into at my local casino. Why is it that I almost always win at the casino but as soon as I try my luck on the internet I get destroyed?
Contrary to popular belief it is not because internet poker is rigged. Online poker is a completely fair gaming environment, just like the casinos and home games. In fact online poker may actually be safer because it isn’t possible for someone to rig the deck. But this article isn’t meant to debate the fairness and integrity of online poker, so let’s get back to answering your question, why is online poker so hard?
1) Online poker players are better than live players
Most people who play online poker seriously spend at least 10 hours a week playing poker and 40-60 hours is not uncommon. All this play and practice leads the players to become exceptionally good and familiar with most situations they will encounter. This allows them to make the BEST play much more often than less experienced players would.
Internet poker also allows players to play way more hands per hour. This means that internet poker pros can gain a lifetime of experience in a relatively short time. Just like in sports, experience is everything, and the more preparation and practice you have, the better you will perform.
Online poker pros also spend a good chunk of time at online poker training sites, studying all parts of the game. Sites like Deucescracked and Bluefire Poker have helped many talented players, reach their potential in a very short time frame, allowing them to fly up the limits.
Most online poker pros are also in their early twenties and have a lot of free time. What are they doing with their free time? You guessed it, studying and practicing, so that when they hit the tables they will have the best chances of winnings all the money.
No matter how much time you have spent playing poker in a live setting, it is extremely unlikely that your experience will match that of a young online poker professional. This is why on average internet poker players are better than live poker players, and why the competition is so much higher in the online setting.
2) You dont’ have enough ammunition to compete
If it is your first or second time trying online poker you will probably deposit enough for 1 or 2 buy-ins at your preferred limit. Right away you are at a huge disadvantage. Let’s say you deposited $1000 and you want to play 5/10 no limit.
The first disadvantage you face is that you won’t be able to reload. Every time you lose a pot your ammunition decreases and you have no way of getting it back other than by winning some pots. The only pros on the other hand have a ton of money behind and will always be reloading to the maximum anytime they lose a pot.
With only one buy-in in your account you face the big issue that once you get stacked, you’re out of the game. If however, you stack one of the pros and are now sitting with a double stack, he (and all the others at the table) will be able to reload and have a second chance against you. No matter how big you get your stack up to, its safe to say that you’re opponents will still have enough money in their account to cover you and will keep chopping away at you until they finally get you. It’s sort of like playing Mario except you have no continues, yes you can make a good run because you’re good at the game, but all it takes is one cooler, or one coinflip that doesn’t go your way and you’re out. Bet you wish you have some extra quarters for continues.
Even if you are an extremely talented player your odds are about even money at best against the on-line pros. Since they have enough behind to keep taking coin flips it is inevitable that eventually you’re going to lose a big one and not be able to buy back in. Your opponents do this day in day out and they will keep reloading until one of you goes bust, and its unlikely to be the player that has 40-200 buyins in his account.
Looking a bit more at this topic, most people playing online poker don’t know when to quit. If they win a couple of buy-ins they either:
a) Move up stakes and try to keep running it up or
b) keep playing at the same table until they inevitably end up with nothing.
Even if you quit for the day, you probably aren’t going to cash out the money. And since most people trying online poker for the first time don’t practice bankroll management, eventually variance will catch up to them and they will bust their deposit.
3) poker software puts recreational players at a huge disadvantage
This is probably the main reason why online poker is so difficult. There are poker softwares out there that will pretty much tell you everything about your opponents. What % of their hands they play, which hands they like to play in which position, what hands they like to reraise with, whether they are aggressive or passive after the flop, how they play their flush draws vs their made hands … get the picture?
Using programs like Hold’em Manager and Pokertracker put the internet poker pros at a huge advantage over the amateurs. These players know exactly how you play as soon as you’ve played about 10 hands. Given that they’re very smart and know how to adjust to different player types, how good do you think your chances are against 5 players who know exactly how you play.
These poker softwares allow the pros to find out what their opponents weaknesses are and focus on them exclusively. If the stats say you don’t play well in 3-bet pots, you are going to be getting reraised A LOT. If the stats say you never bluff, don’t expect to be getting paid off by lesser hands than yours very often. If the stats say you are a maniac, you will be getting called by things like ace high and third pair very frequently.
The fact is, poker is a game of trying to outwit your opponents. When your opponent knows exactly what moves you like to use and when, its very tough to overcome. The only way to out-do them is to mix up your play, but if you aren’t experienced and comfortable mixing it up you will probably end up trying to do something fancy at the wrong time and end up getting burned.
4) You can’t get a read on your opponents
Some people excel at live poker because they have very good ‘feel’ and can read their opponents very well. This is a skill that is extremely valuable in live poker and can make someone a lot of money. Unfortunately this skill doesn’t carry over to online poker.
In online poker, all you get is a screen name, an avatar and a location to go on. You can’t catch a facial tick or a change in posture to help you make your decisions. Making close decisions in online poker comes down to math and statistics, and if you don’t have stats tracking programs then you’re pretty much out of luck when it comes to making reads.
There are timing tells of course, but when your opponents are playing 12-16 tables, it’s hard to know if their taking their time because they have a tough decision, or if they’re just busy winning big pots on the other tables and that’s why they’re using their time bank against you.
Being a winning poker player online comes down to having extremely good fundamentals and discipline. In live poker you can get away without having great fundamentals because for the most part the competition is very weak and un-educated at poker. Even the 10th worst poker player in the world can be a winner if his home game consists of the 9 players worse than him.
So if you want to try your luck at online poker I really recommend being realistic and accepting the facts. Most online poker players are extremely skilled at the game of poker, and if you want to be able to compete with them you are going to have to put in the time and effort to be on their level. The pros are always looking for new players, and any new face is a target for the professionals, you’re game better be very sharp if you want to butt heads with the great white sharks.
Take advantage of the resources available to you. No matter what your preferred method of learning is, it’s available on the internet.
If you like to read: Poker Books are available at amazon.com
If you like to look at hands and solve them: the 2+2 forums are fantastic
If you like to watch people play: There are tons of great training sites
If you like to work 1-on-1: Lots of players now do coaching, including the gripsed.com instructors
If you like the classroom approach: Then you’re already at the right place
And if you are really interested in trying your luck at online poker, you’d be crazy to not invest in at least holdem manager. It is just too big a disadvantage to not have it when 90% of the regulars use it. Take this opportunity to level the playing field. The software’s that are available may seem expensive at first (ranging from $20-80) but when you think about how much money they will save you, and make you in the long run, they really are no brainer investments. I have put together a brief list of the programs that I use to maximize my edge while multi-tabling online and I highly recommend all of the products found here: link to resources page.
Online poker is definitely harder than your average back room game, but that doesn’t mean it is a game that can’t be beat. People are winning millions of dollars playing online poker, why shouldn’t you be able to win some too?
So get to know your theory, get in some practice and THEN, go out there and GET STACKIN’!
-gripsed
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