I’ve been thinking about how differently people approach the game depending on whether it’s online or live. For me, online poker feels more fast-paced, with tougher multi-tabling decisions and less time to think. Live poker, on the other hand, has a slower rhythm but brings in the psychological aspect — reading people, handling table talk, and managing your own patience.
So I wanted to ask the community:
Do you feel stronger playing online or live?
What are the biggest adjustments you make when switching between the two formats?
And do you think one format makes you a better player in the other?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
This is a very interesting question...
My game doesn't change much from online to live, but in live, we have to remember that everything is slower; it just changes the pace of the game. To avoid getting bored, I end up taking advantage of the time to analyze my opponents' plays and think about strategies for each villain. In live, we still have a lot of recreational players and many players who have no idea about ranges and such, so I tend to identify that too. If I have players who have no idea about any of this, I don't need to think about it much, because they'll play the cards they find attractive.
In online, however, I'm more concerned with doing what needs to be done without too many worries. After all, I'm in the comfort of my own home, with everything in hand... and if I get knocked out of the tournament, there are thousands more to play... in live, when the buy-ins end, you have to go home, there's food, transportation, and other expenses.
But generally speaking, the only thing that changes is the dynamic of the environment; other than that, everything stays the same.
Now that I'm recovering from a vision injury, which leaves me with only 10% vision in my right eye, it's very difficult to play live. Yesterday, I struggled to play... so I've been opting for online.
Regarding quality, I think due to many events in my personal life, in all aspects, I'm learning to adapt better, but not every day. I have neither the mentality nor the patience for the game, and when I try to play under these conditions, the game goes away. In other words, my game and its quality are more linked to my state of mind than anything else. I've been studying and developing a lot in this mental and physical area over the past few months, as I want to start my career change and start making a living from poker.
. 
