Ok here is the background:

I have never played poker on the internet before, only in live games.

I am new to limit hold’em, I normally play other games.

Question:

Do you think it is better to start out playing limit on the internet or in live games?

I have been thinking about it and although I am obviously more comfortable in live games I have been thinking it might not be such a bad idea to introduce two new things at the same time. My basic reasoning for this is that when playing on the net I don’t need to think about as much (my tells, others tells, I can write down notes on betting patterns rather than remembering it.) On the other side of the coin I don’t know if internet games are very different to live ones and if I try too much at once it could all fall in a heap.

Keep in mind that I will obviously make an effort to learn more about limit before I start playing and I have already seen many book recommendations on FCP for low limit hold’em. I also have no real care for how low the limits are as I am attempting to learn the game before I try to play stakes where I could win or lose money at an amount that is noticeable.

Sounds like you're taking a good and safe approach to the game randy.

Internet is a great place to work on your skills.

Playing lots of hands means you are gaining experience at a much higher pace.

The benefits of lower rake, no tipping, gas to get to casino, etc. are also +EV.

A rookie may not realize KT is a bad hand because they don't see it often enough live to build the correlation. But online you can figure out what wins and loses much faster.

Reading is a good source of info for sure.

Do the reading while you're playing...you can test out what works for you slowly as opposed to trying to use a whole textbook-worth of info all at once.

If you start at micro limits then you can focus on making the right play as opposed to pressing for wins to protect the bankroll.

GL

i agree.
start low limit maybe 1-2, even .50/1 and just get a good feel for it before you go deep

240 hands per hour online (multi-tabling) versus 20-30 hands per hour live. Online poker brings the long-term closer.

you'll learn a lot faster playing online like cobalt said.

when i play live now, im amazed at how slow the game is.

thanks for the help guys, guess its time to get my hands on a low limit book and explore playing on the net. I will need i credit card aswell

Is party ok to play at? I assume the bigger the site the more likely i wont play anyone too flash no matter what the limit and party seems the biggest.

Is there any others that i should look into?

Bodog doesn't have a whole lot of choice when it comes to limit games, but the players are bad, and you can transfer money directly between them and your checking account.

Get Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller, Sklansky and Malmuth. Play .5/1 on Party Poker. Make a fortune. That's really the recipe for success.

another thing randy, whatever site you choose, check to make sure if rakeback is available at that site.

checkout the online forums for rakeback info.

good luck.

rakeback.... so some online sites offer a % of the rake back to you. Thats pretty cool. there are many cash incentives for playing online.

its definitly a big bonus. you should be able to find anywhere between 25-45% rakeback.

check around because it can make a huge difference. especially when your trying to learn the game.

A few notes:

Rakeback is great. It's actually done by the site paying an affiliate to find players. The pay the affiliate a percentage of your rake, and they pay you a percentage of that. It is nice. However, a lot of the rakeback sites are a lot tougher than Party, especially for newcomers. My recommendation is just what Cinci said, Party .5/1.

You will also hear a lot from people about bonus whoring, that is great too, but again, you are playing at tougher sites. You just have to decide if the bonus makes up for foregone profit margins from playing tougher players.

Definitely read SSHE, as noted above.

Play within your bankroll, and don't play Party BJ... there are reasons why I haven't played online in a month...

Oh, and read every post in the Micro Limit and Limit forums on this site. You could read other sites (2+2, etc), but I like to pimp this one. Pay careful attention to screech, econ_tim, alphaomega, wingmaster, actuary, aim786, and ****, there are definitely others, but I haven't been around much lately, so I forget... oh yeah, and me.. Oh yeah, pokerplayer24 is really good, and Abbaddabba...basically, just look at the post count, it actually is a good indicator... lol

Anywho, good luck.

- Zach