Bond18 – Around the World in 90 Days: Day 87

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

The live poker is over for a time now. All that’s left is to enjoy a day in Macau hanging out in the spa and browsing my various websites.

Spending all day in the spa is the kind of activity you can get used to, if not addicted to. I almost feel bad sitting here while people wait on me and give me massages, but then I remember how awesome it is. After three months of non stop travel spending a few days doing nothing but relaxing is exactly what the doctor ordered.

The upcoming Victorian Poker Championships looks very promising. It’s a surprisingly high stakes series of tournaments, with two 10k tournaments, a 5k PLO, an $1,100 six max event, and the $3,000 main event. The best part about the series though, is for all the high stakes action it doesn’t really attract any international talent. A few online players will be there, as well as the best of the live poker players in Australia, but no major names either live or online will be there to my knowledge. I’m not so sure about the $5,200 PLO since I’m fairly bad and nity in the game, but I’ll play everything else.

When I get back I’ll be hitting the online scene for a few days leading up to the tournament series. I feel like going back I’m probably going to be very rusty and unsure of the moves I’m making and unfamiliar with what to expect from peoples ranges. A major factor in poker comes down to your understanding of ranges and ability to expect opponents tendencies and patterns, and when you spend a lot of time either online or live when you switch to the other it can be a awkward transition.

That said, having spent about an equal amount of time this year playing both I can say I honestly prefer online to live. The most difficult part about online poker is the social isolation that comes from being at home behind your computer all day. Live is considerably more draining though, and sometimes the social factor becomes a burden when you miss details at the table or become distracted with the various drama that goes on around a tournament and with other players. It sounds like a strange statement, but I honestly believe that online poker is the more ‘pure’ form of poker. The stacks sizes are always available to you, the blinds and antes are taken in for you, you don’t have to deal with idiots stalling or wasting time, the game gets focused and concentrated down to its technical roots. Live there is so much shit going on, and so many complications, that although it’s how everything started, and what most people think when they hear the word ‘poker’, I think it’s clearly the inferior form. Too bad the online games are so much tougher.

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