Internet Poker vs. Live Poker

Sunday-Tuesday: +$1,901
Hours: 9.25
To Date: +$54,129

I think I've been doing a good job of motivating myself to play since I posted about that in my last post. I've been doing some things at the tables against some of the solid regulars that I play against everyday that I think will make me more money against them in the long run. Anyway, I was talking to someone the other day about playing poker full time on the internet compared to live at a casino/cardroom. He was saying how sick of internet poker he is and how much he hates it, and can't wait until he moves so he'll be close to a casino and can play there most of the time. And I was saying how much more I like playing on the internet and that even if I lived at a casino I would still play on the internet for the majority of the time. There are definitely negatives and positives concerning both however. So, here's why I like being an internet pro compared to a live pro. First and most importantly, playing multiple tables on the internet for the most part is MUCH more profitable. You see about 3 times as many hands on the internet for each table compared to sitting in a casino at one table. So if you are playing 3,4,5,6, or more tables on the internet you are seeing an enormous amount of hands, which in turn allows you to make more money. Now, your play does diminish a little for each table you add on, but w/out going into too much explanation and taking forever it is much more profitable to play a couple tables or more on the internet than playing at a casino. Secondly, staying with this concept, the internet is unbelivably and not even comparable to live poker when we are talking about speed. No dealer, multiple tables, quick one click buttons, and time bank limits all make for very fast play. There are numerous advantages to this. It's more profitable, and it's not boring b/c you are playing hands very often and almost always have a hand to play. In a casino you can go for a couple hours and only be able to play a handful of hands during that time, which can become not only VERY boring but also quite frustrating as well. One of the best things about internet poker is that it's more profitable, but at lower limits compared to live poker. To make up for the number of tables and the speed of the internet you have to play significantly higher limits live. While this is exciting and fun at a casino, there also comes pitfalls to this. The swings are very large and very long! On the internet you can grind lower limits and play numerous tables, which makes the swings lower than when playing big limits live, and most importantly makes the downswings and breakeven stretches MUCH shorter. You also don't need nearly as big of a bankroll when grinding these lower limits on the internet. Lastly, the convenience of being able to sit down on your computer anywhere in the world w/ internet access and play vs. players all over the globe at anytime is hard for the casino/cardrooms to beat.
Now, there are numerous things about live poker that are really nice. First of all, the players typically are MUCH, much worse than on the internet. People that come to casinos and cardrooms are gamblers and looking to have a good time. So, that is the best thing about live poker to me, the players for the most part are just terrible and it's awesome! Also, for a little while it can be really fun to play in a cardroom and have actual money in front of you and it's exciting to rake in a big pot to your stack. It's also nice to be able to be social and talk to other human beings at the table for a change. But like I already said, this gets old after a while and just not being able to see more than 40 hands/hour gets to be extremely boring.
Overall, I can't imagine being a live pro. The internet has given so many players the opportunity to make a lot of money in a short amount of time. I am so grateful for internet poker and the life it has given me and will continue to provide. But I will from time to time make the trek out to play some live poker to change it up and break the everday grind of internet poker.