After spending hundreds of hours in both online casinos and live casinos, there are various differences between the two despite playing the same game. Here are a few of the nuances I have noticed.

Online players are much stronger stake for stake

Normally the normal live game recommended you read can find in a casino is $1/$2 ($200NL). This is where all of the beginners start. Online, the smallest games may be as small as $0.01/$0.02 ($2NL) where there is just not much money to be made. That implies beginners in live casinos are playing for way bigger stakes than online. Online Players playing $200NL are typically very strong.

Live low-stakes players generally do not have a clue

Can’t tell you how often times I have been talking to live players speak about how online players don’t determine what they’re doing. They’ll say things like “you cannot read his face” or “online players don’t know how to bluff and keep a straight face” – stupidness, really. Many live players don’t understand the concept of frequencies and betting patterns, which in fact are far more informative than “his lip twitched when he reached for his chips” or what ever

Raising 3x the bb preflop will not do anything

Many live players don’t consider big blinds, they only consider chips. What I mean by that’s if for example, at a $1/$2 game, somebody raises $6, many players will think “oh that’s just 1 red chip” as opposed to thinking of 3 big blinds. In case you are going to come in for a raise in a live game, you are going to probably want to raise between 6-8bb, at least within the $200NL live game.

Very little 3betting in live games

Most players in a live setting are way more content to just call a raise as oppose to 3bet, even with big hands like AQ and AK – and it is certainly not for balance. Routinely, for anyone who is 3bet in a live game, the player will probably have QQ+ (weak players)

Live players think pocket pairs are the nuts.

In a live game, players have a really hard time folding pocket pairs preflop for some reason. I’ve 3bet with hands like AQ+ and cannot tell you how often times I have been called by 22-77. Lots of dead money in this particular spot.