As background, I am a recreational player, not a pro, but I do quite well in live games.
Online, however, I struggle a lot, as my game depends a lot on my reads. (I'm actually down a little overall online, which is definitely NOT the case live)
My question is this...I see quite a few hands that look like THIS online.
In a casino, you would see something like this MAYBE every couple of years, if you go regularly. On Full Tilt, I've seen this, or quads on quads, Full House on Full House, etc A LOT. Thats not even going into the "action flops" I've seen.
I've only played about 260 sngs ($5 or $10 mostly, occasionally $20), but, since I started in November, have seen these types of hands at least two dozen times. It seems to average out to about one "wild" hand per every 8 SNGs or so. Now I'm not talking about 8s cracking Aces or that kind of thing. I know that happens. I'm talking about the really weird stuff like above.
Is this normal? Am I just seeing a flurry of weird hands? The way I work out the percentages, it just doesn't seem right, but I don't really want to be one of those conspiracy guys. So can someone please enlighten me as to why I notice this?
I've seen AA v KK v QQ but never AA v KK v QQ v JJ. I played 1000s of tournies online. As pharreal says it down to the volume of play online compared to live.
Online, however, I struggle a lot, as my game depends a lot on my reads. (I'm actually down a little overall online, which is definitely NOT the case live)
My question is this...I see quite a few hands that look like THIS online
In a casino, you would see something like this MAYBE every couple of years, if you go regularly. On Full Tilt, I've seen this, or quads on quads, Full House on Full House, etc A LOT. Thats not even going into the "action flops" I've seen.
I've only played about 260 sngs ($5 or $10 mostly, occasionally $20), but, since I started in November, have seen these types of hands at least two dozen times. It seems to average out to about one "wild" hand per every 8 SNGs or so. Now I'm not talking about 8s cracking Aces or that kind of thing. I know that happens. I'm talking about the really weird stuff like above.
Is this normal? Am I just seeing a flurry of weird hands? The way I work out the percentages, it just doesn't seem right, but I don't really want to be one of those conspiracy guys. So can someone please enlighten me as to why I notice this?
A few things.
1. If you are a losing player online you are generally a losing player live. Skill is skill no matter what format.
2. Your sample size for online is tiny. There is no way to determine if you are a winning player yet.
3. There is no conspiracy. You have no data to backup your claim. I have seen things live that are just as crazy online and I have seen them proportionally the same. You can see 10 or even 20 times more hands online then live so you should see these weird hands 10 or 20 times more often online then live. Its pretty simple.
4. Most people who bring these things up arent good players. They find excuses to explain why they dont win. They claim to be winning players live, but they dont actually track their stats. They just remember when they win and dont remember when they lose.
I once saw a AA v KK v AK v AK in a tournament I was playing. You have to feel particularly sorry for the KK in that case with absolutely no way to win.
You play a ton more hands here than live! How ever many hands would take you 20 yrs live, you could do in 1 or 2 here or less!! So yea, you will see hands like this!! Remember the Quad aces on the river, beat by a ROYAL FLUSH made on the same card in the WSOP Main Event in the July!!
A few things.
1. If you are a losing player online you are generally a losing player live. Skill is skill no matter what format.
2. Your sample size for online is tiny. There is no way to determine if you are a winning player yet.
3. There is no conspiracy. You have no data to backup your claim. I have seen things live that are just as crazy online and I have seen them proportionally the same. You can see 10 or even 20 times more hands online then live so you should see these weird hands 10 or 20 times more often online then live. Its pretty simple.
4. Most people who bring these things up arent good players. They find excuses to explain why they dont win. They claim to be winning players live, but they dont actually track their stats. They just remember when they win and dont remember when they lose.
Thanks, everyone, for the responses.
A specific response to wshuwerehere...
your points, in order...
1. I DO, in fact, track my stats live. Well, not stats, per se, as I do not know the number of hands I have played live. But what I do know is the exact amount of money I started with, and the exact amount of money I have now. After two years, my bankroll is more than triple what it was (playing biweekly or monthly), so I know I'm not a losing player live. I may be a slight losing player in tournaments, but I have been in the money in approximately 1/3 of the live tournaments I play, and have a pretty good ROI in cash games. This, btw, is also being borne out in my online game thus far, though with less general success.
2. Your point on sample size is taken. Actually, this ties in well with the point above. Online, I'm only down $100 or so overall, though down $400 in sngs. (The worst of that being that I got stupid and played a few $50 +$5 sngs and didn't cash, so that brought my total down...stupid, but my own mistake to learn from)
3. Your third point is the one I take most issue with...you seem to think I am claiming conspiracy. I'm NOT. I'm asking if hands like this are more common online, as I seem to have seen a lot of them in very few games. In the end, it shouldn't matter about speed of play online, as I'm not referring to the number of times I've seen weird hands vs. the amount of time I've played online, but rather vs. the number of tournaments (and therefore number of hands) Ive played online. If you play 1000 hands in a casino, and 1000 hands online, the number of times you see wild hands should be the same. It just takes longer live. I get that.
What I was ASKING was this...ARE there actually more wild hands online? (not favouring one player or another, not in an attempt to increase rake, and not in an attempt to do anything else to deliberately skew results...just does the computer shuffle differently than a live dealer).
Let me be clear...I'm not trying to claim any unfairness here. I'm asking more experienced players if they experience more of these types of hands online than live, per number of hands played. (as opposed to over time) The reason I am asking this is because, if it IS true, then I will adjust my game. If it is NOT true, then I assume what I have seen is just some kind of weird variance, and I will still try to improve my game anyway.
4. I don't claim to be a good player. I'm an amateur. I do well at my local casino, against other amateurs. I don't play serious enough poker, or good enough poker, for any "conspiracies" to really affect me, even if they did exist. I play for fun, for small stakes, and for the pleasure of getting better at something.
Anyways....rant over.
Again, thanks everyone for the comments.
At this point I'm assuming that the frequency of weird hands I've noticed is a combination of variance, speed of play, and the fact that a fair number of people seem to chase more hands deeper, so there are more "bad beat" opportunities realized online than live.
"You have to feel particularly sorry for the KK in that case with absolutely no way to win."
incorrect.
KK can make a straight flush to king if the board runs out QJT9 all of one of it's king's suits.
And to the OP, if you're not trying to claim conspiracy for rake etc then your argument makes even less sense. How would an online dealing program accidentally weight itself towards freak outcomes when there's no logical reason for that to happen?
To answer your question simply: no. Online does not differ from live in any way - the cards are shuffled and dealt randomly and as such outcomes are as random as they are live.
incorrect.
KK can make a straight flush to king if the board runs out QJT9 all of one of it's king's suits.
And to the OP, if you're not trying to claim conspiracy for rake etc then your argument makes even less sense. How would an online dealing program accidentally weight itself towards freak outcomes when there's no logical reason for that to happen?
To answer your question simply: no. Online does not differ from live in any way - the cards are shuffled and dealt randomly and as such outcomes are as random as they are live.
impossible since the the Q of clubs is out there and the J of diamonds is out there.
i was replying to thestatistician, not the screenshot above.
His situation was KK vs AA vs AK vs AK. Thus its entirely possible for the scenario i mentioned to occur, which is why KK has 0.134% equity.
got ya
Well, saw some nice setups in all my games. I beated 2 AA's once with my KK with me hitting a set on the board.
The one i remember was this one: Had to push with my J4o in a SNG and got called by 99, FLOP 933, so pretty dead, Turn 3, still pretty dead lol, River 3, So won the hand with four off a kind 3's J high! So sick!
Anyway pokersites arent rigged and there are no setup hands. If your scared pokersites are rigged just play at the Top15 pokersites, they 100% save.
you saw this year at the wsop another strange setup with a lot of poket pairs and AK siuted, when cada layed down JJ preflop 
, so it hapens
regarding other strange hands like lets say 83off beating AA KK and a set of 7 on the flop , these thigs just hapen because online (especialy at micro and low stakes) more players get in to raised pots and with stranger cards than live , and there are many calling stations out there , thats why you may see more sick situations online than live , besides the huge volume of play wich also is a factor
i will say that i haven't seen this match up but once in awhile you will see a few like it.
what was JJ thinking 14 hands into this?
it happens, its legit, you just say way more scenarios online.