Learning Poker

I had a chat at a table here on Replay Poker yesterday with someone new to the site who said he was only playing to kill time. He believed strongly that the only way to learn poker or to improve poker skills was at a real table with real cards. Virtual games, he argued, provided no opportunity for growth.

I read the book The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova who played for one year, finishing the year a champion, not just money ahead. While she played many, many in-person games, between tournaments she spent hours playing on-line and couldn’t have advanced as far as she did without those many hours on-line.

So survey question. How do you weigh in on this discussion?

  • I can add to my skills playing virtual poker and only virtual poker.
  • I can add to my skills only if I mix on-line play with in-person play.
  • I can only grow my poker skills by playing in-person poker with real cards and a human dealer present at the table.
  • I play poker just for fun, not to improve or win.
  • I have a whole different theory. (If you have other thoughts, please share in comments below.)

0 voters

3 Likes

Virtual Poker and Live Poker are two different animals. You can’t compare the two as I have competed in the WSOP.

The 2 main differences being, you have longer decision making time at a live table and you can pick up at reads/ tells from a player that is under pressure/ and or bluffing.

There is more but those 2 points are a major difference.

Besides the fact that in virtual poker the table lets you know how your doing without having to look at your cards on every street because they are not face down.

3 Likes

I guess if you have perfected your game online, then you can only improve for the by playing live poker, but what is perfection online? Even if I win back to back multi-table tournaments, which I have done a number of times, I want to win three in a row, which I don’t think I’ve ever done, or maybe just the one time.

I just posted a post recently commenting that the situations that you deal with on replay poker are exactly the same as the situations you see in high stakes games on YouTube, but that the professionals are focused mainly on looking for tells to figure out which bets are bluffs and which bets are value bets, whereas on replay poker most people won’t fold any good hand even if it is nowhere near the nuts. For example, people will call off their whole stack with a straight, when there are possibilities for both a flush and a boat on the board.

2 Likes

You can only improve your skills with random dealt cards!!

And that is why Replay Poker has one of the best Random Number Generators!!

3 Likes

Welcome to the Replay Poker Forums, Blackballed1! Thanks for the response. Come back often, and good luck at the tables, random or otherwise. :wink:

1 Like

It is like comparing apples and oranges. in person- face to face, the computer not telling u what u have, seeing body movements on people (tails), etc. etc. Nothing like in person poker, u do not just push a button and say oops lol.

1 Like

I agree 10000% Bill. Making mistakes in live games can cost you big $$$.

1 Like

About 1 hour ago in a tournament (7 stud) i had a full house and knew this guy was trying for a flush, on the river he caught it and bet and i went to raise and pushed the button fold lmao. He said he had me with a A high flush and i only told him "If this is cash i be crying right now lol.

1 Like