I've read a lot, and commented on, the issue of online poker. Here is another statement.

I appreciate that there is a variance in live poker, just like there is in online poker. But I've looked at this variance over six months, and it is far greater online.

In live poker, I tend to either win a fairly large amount, or a small amount consistently. Rarely do I lose a large amount.

Online, however, the variance is more striking. I either win a large amount (50-100% of my bankroll) or I lose a similar amount. In other words, it is up and down a lot more.

I'm at a loss to explain why this might be. I've eliminated the proximity of players in live poker and tells as an explanation, as I experimented by not concentrating on these for a number of sessions and found that any difference in profit and loss was negligible.

Anyone with any useful thoughts?