Was This an Online Hand in Live Poker?

I’ve been thinking more and more about online poker lately.  I haven’t played much in quite awhile.  In fact, you can find a couple of posts about my most recent online adventures here and here.  But now that online poker is fully sanctioned in both Nevada and New Jersey, maybe it’s time to give it another try.

One site that is sanctioned in New Jersey that I find intriguing is 888Poker.  I note that PokerAtlas (who I work for, of course) is offering a sign up bonus for them.

I know I started blogging after the heyday of online poker, but many of the bloggers I link to were or are very much into online poker.   Lightning used to play a lot of online poker, and Little Acorn, located in Scotland, still does.

Back in the day, I was mostly using online poker as a learning tool.  First I had to learn poker etiquette, and then I learned strategy (I’m still working on that one!).  I never got to the point of multi-tabling.  At the time I was playing, I never considered it. It was all I could do to keep track of one table.  But I stopped playing online before I became comfortable.

Perhaps if I was still playing regularly I’d be multi-tabling six or eight tables by now?  I definitely want to give that a try if I get back to it.  I know online plays wilder, more aggressive, and has a lot more action than live poker.  So perhaps the EV you lose by having to concentrate on so many tables is offset by the plus EV from all that wild play?  All you have to do is play just a bit sane and you’ll do alright, no?

I know when I played before I never played NL cash games (except maybe for penny stakes).  I learned limit hold’em from online.  So playing it again, playing a cash game for my normal live poker stakes, would be different for me. 

I’m sure the online game is a little different (or a lot different) than I remember it.  Poker live, or online, always seems to be evolving.

You know, just maybe the reason I saw the hand I’m about to describe (from live poker) was because the players involved were both online players?  I can’t say for sure, but I know at least one of them was European.  The other guy was an older gentleman who you’d have expected to be more of a nit.  Not at all the case.

I had just arrived at the table at BSC and was just settling in.  The Euro was in middle position, and after a limper or two, he made it $35!  Wow, I thought, is that the standard raise at this table?  The pot was $7 until then.  It folded to the older guy who called.  Ok, I wanted to see this.

I folded my garbage hand and it was just the two of them to see the flop.  The flop was King-King-10.  There was a bet from the Euro, a call from the other guy.  I think they both checked a blank turn.  Another 10 on the river, the Euro checked, the other guy bet and the Euro reluctantly called.  I don’t remember the bet sizes after the flop but they were reasonable for the size of the pot.  I do know that no flush was possible.

The older gentleman showed King-Jack offsuit.  Huh?  You call a preflop raise for $35 with that hand?  Seriously?

I guess he knew there was gonna be two Kings on the flop.

The other guy showed his hand even though he didn’t have to.  He had Ace-Queen offsuit.  So he did flop a gutshot, then missed.  I understand the c-bet on the flop, but I sure don’t understand his call on the river.  I guess he thought his Ace might be good.  Damn, I made a call like that recently myself (see here).   

I don’t get it.  But perhaps if I started playing online, I’d see that more often?