Switching From Online to Brick-and-Mortar Casino Poker

Your answer is probably, “Of course I won’t go on tilt!”

Hopefully, you’re right, but don’t be so sure.

People often deny reality about dangers. Despite overwhelming evidence that smoking, overeating, and sunbathing damage health and shorten lives, many people do them. Why do you believe that they (and you) will be more realistic about emotional reactions? They are much harder to control than conscious actions.

You also may believe that because online games are much tougher, you’ll easily crush brick-and-mortar casino (B&M) games, and winners don’t go on tilt.
B&M games are much softer, but your results depend upon your skills and adjustment abilities:

• If you won online, you will certainly beat them if you adjust well.
• If you broke even online, you will probably beat them if you adjust well.
• Even if you were a small loser online, you may beat them if you adjust well.
• No matter how well you did online, if you don’t adjust well, you’ll CERTAINLY lose.
You may disagree, but poker is extremely situational. The answer to most questions is, “It depends upon the situation.” If you don’t adjust well to varied conditions, you’ll lose.

Losing is frustrating, and adjustment pressures increase frustration. Nobody likes being forced to adjust. We are creatures of habit and want to continue our comfortable routines.

In 2004, I wrote a four-part series on tilt that you can read at CardPlayer.com. I’m revisiting it because switching to B&M games creates frustrations that most online players don’t consider.

These frustrations can put you on tilt, as I defined it in 2004: “Tilt” means making mistakes for emotional reasons that you wouldn’t normally make.

Our Seminars and Webinars

Because online players need help to switch to B&M games, Chris “Fox” Wallace, Adam Stemple, and I are conducting seminars and Webinars. They discuss strategic adjustments, and I cover psychological ones. Of course, our specialties overlap.
For example, during our first Webinar, Chris said that online players go on tilt more frequently and wildly than B&M players. Because they play so many hands, they get more bad beats. Since nobody will see them, they overreact. They can yell at their computer, but wouldn’t yell at a person. B&M players are less likely to react so extremely because they don’t want other people to see them “lose it.”
Although being with people will reduce highly visible tilt, it won’t prevent the subtler forms, such as quietly making mistakes. If you’ve overreacted to bad beats and other online frustrations, you’re particularly vulnerable to new frustrations.

B&M Poker Has Different Frustrations

All poker games are frustrating, but you’re accustomed to online irritations. New frustrations are more likely to put you on tilt, and B&M games have many of them:

Much slower games
Players’ mistakes that can’t occur online
Dealers’ mistakes that can’t occur online
Much higher costs
Inability to play your preferred game
Noise and other distractions
Excessive socializing
Pressure to control your body language
Pressure to read opponents’ body language
Pressure to get information that you were given online
Much higher stakes
Much larger swings
Much looser games
Much worse beats

These frustrations add to each other and increase your vulnerability. This column will discuss only the first five.

Much slower games

You’ll play from one-half to less than one-tenth as many hands per hour. It’s boring, and your boredom can cause you to make mistakes. For example, after folding everything for 30 minutes, that A-10 under the gun can look pretty good.
You’d never play it online, but do so “just this once.” You may rationalize that you’re “mixing up your play,” but you’re really just tired of folding. Playing those cards clearly indicates that you’re on tilt: Your boredom caused an error.

Players’ mistakes that can’t occur online

Dealers can’t or won’t prevent players from making these (and other) frustrating mistakes:

• Acting out of turn
• Stopping the action while ordering a drink, socializing, watching TV, or ignoring the game
• Making incorrect-size bets
• Asking, “Who raised?” or, “How much can I bet?”

You may want to punish them, and deliberately punitive actions are obvious mistakes. Or, you may just become more frustrated and vulnerable.

Dealers’ mistakes that can’t occur online

Dealers may talk too much or incorrectly report the action. They will occasionally expose a card or burn and turn too soon, costing you a big pot and even “pushing you over the edge.”

Much higher costs

The rake is much higher, and there are tips, jackpot drops, food, gas, and other expenses. You may not have seriously considered these costs, but smart sports bettors adjust to the “juice.” If a bet is just slightly better than 50-50, they won’t make it.

Because B&M games cost so much, a play with a 55-45 edge can have negative EV [expected value]. Let’s take a contrived example. You get all in, blind versus blind, for $25 each, and are a 55-45 favorite. Do it 100 times:

You win 55 times at $18 ($25 minus $5 rake, $1 jackpot drop, and $1 dealer tip) = +$990.
You lose 45 times at $25 = -$1,125.
Your net is -$135, -$1.35 per hand, 5.4 percent of your investment.

The numbers are better or worse depending upon where you play, and there are other costs, such as food and gas. You may object that you wouldn’t play at this casino, which has a high rake, or the pot is too small.

But people do play at this casino (and other high-cost places), and they do get all in for small amounts. I chose this atypical situation to show that the smaller the pot, the harder it is to overcome the higher costs. In fact, B&M games at your preferred stakes may be unbeatable.

If you’ve been multitabling [playing multiple tables simultaneously online] for small stakes, winning a little per hand but netting a good income from the volume and rakeback, your game choice and strategy must change. Otherwise, the higher costs can wipe you out. Making those changes will increase your total stress level and vulnerability.

Inability to play your preferred game

Most cardrooms spread only a few games, and they generally don’t offer anything below $1-$2 no-limit and $2-$4 limit. You can be forced to make an unpleasant choice:

• Don’t play.
• Join a game that you don’t like.

Playing in undesirable games is frustrating, especially when you lose. And if you play in the wrong games, you’ll lose more often. If you’re forced to play for higher stakes than usual, losing is extremely frustrating.

Final Remarks

The combination of the five factors that I’ve discussed can easily put you on tilt, and I haven’t even discussed the other nine frustrations.

Tilt is obviously a much greater danger than you believed. If you don’t protect yourself, you can easily get hurt.

Future columns will discuss the other frustrations and recommend ways to protect yourself. ♠

“Dr. Al” (alan[email protected]) coaches only on psychology issues. For information about seminars and webinars, go to propokerseminars.com. He is David Sklansky’s co-author of DUCY? and the sole author of four poker psychology books._