Hey there,

I've been a winning live player for about a year now (was a nitty break even player for a couple years before that). I play part time while working a full time job. Mostly 1/2NL with some 2/5 and the occasional live tournament mixed in. My Live bankroll is at about $6k of pure profit (would be more but i like to take shots in $1k+ tournaments every once in a while).

I'm 23 years old and live in Canada, so I often get called out as being "one of those online wizards" when I'm playing in my regular live games. This however is completely not the case. I've tried to make a go of online poker several times in the past, but never had any success. I've tried SNGs, Full ring micros, 6 max micros, heads up Sit and goes, Zoom...Just never been able to win. I'm probably down somewhere around $2K to online poker over the last couple years.

I've done a bunch of reading on 2+2 and I just can't seem to pin point why I've never been successful.

I was thinking of making another deposit, but then I look at my track record online and realize it's probably a bad investment and i should just stick to the live games i know i can beat. The problem with that though is that I'm not growing as a poker player at all. I feel like my game has a lot of leaks, but they don't matter because i can still make a decent profit in these super fishy live games.

If i were to try building an online bankroll again, where should i start? Is there some reading I should do first? I'm not opposed to the idea of coaching, but I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for that yet.

I'm just looking for some direction i guess...any advice would be appreciated

What stakes do you typically play online? I'd say nl10 is about equivalent to your 1/2 games irl. Also, try tracking software to analyze your play and plug some leaks. Both HEM and PT4 have free trials going.

NL10 is typically right in the area of what i have played online in the past. I have tried the free trials of HEM and PT4 before. I found that i wasn't using the HUD as much as i should have, and i don't have much of a clue when i comes to analyzing my stats to plug my leaks...maybe that's what i need a coach for?

I find a big part of the problem for me with micro stakes is that there isn't nearly enough money at stake for me to care. Does that make sense? I'm used to playing 1/2 or 2/5 and making or losing hundreds of dollars in a session. It's hard for me to focus when i only have 10 dollars on the table you know? I find myself making calls i know i shouldn't out of curiousity because "what the hell, its only 2 bucks" which i realize is horrible....

At the same time though i know I'm not good enough to compete for the stakes I'm used to online because the quality of players there are so much better.

maybe I'm doomed to a life of grinding live poker?

well if you are serious about playing online?? maybe you need some goals to get your head on straight - ie learn the game well enough to move up to make some money at 100NLH online by grinding/learning starting at 10NL

if yes
get HM2
equilab(free)
join Cardrunners or Dueces cracked and start studying

if you learn to beat online poker it will help your live game

I have the same issue of not playing for enough money online versus live. What I did was start playing the exact same game that I play live (1 table only, 9 handed), and I just started adjusting my game to my opponents. One of the most important things I learned is identifying who the reg multi-tablers are (how many tables they are playing is very important, to the style of poker they are going to play). Someone playing 16 tables is going to be a lot different than someone playing... say 3 or 4 tables versus someone only playing 1 table like yourself. Practice identifying your opponents on a single table. Write notes on them.

You should be able to adapt to the level of play after seeing some volume of hands, but don't expect immediate results. Do not call down unless your very sure your hand is good in your first couple sessions to avoid any kind of tilt and play bad. Bad calls put me on tilt, anyway. Being scared of 100NLH online when you have 6K BR in profit, you should not be scared of this as long as you play 1 table only. Deposit 1K and you have 10 buy-ins. Play with that, and see where you end up.