The Best Online Poker Players Who Suck at Live Poker

Online poker is given much of the credit for the poker boom, but there are plenty of online players who can’t translate their success to the live arena. This could be for many reasons, be it bad luck or otherwise. Most of the players who struggle live are unknown outside of the online poker communities, so their struggles are never widely publicized. Beyond this, tournament play is most widely presented on TV, where many online stars stick to cash games. This list is subject to change, but for now, these guys just can’t get a grip on the real life felt.#1 – Shaun DeebShaun Deeb is one of the most popular names in online poker, particularly in the MTT community. While he dominates online, he is far from a live poker champ. He did win one live major tournament in Kyiv, but the event had a grand total of three entrants, so it hardly counts for anything.Deeb’s other live successes have been far and few between. Not only has Deeb struggled to make a name for himself off the Internet, but he has also been the subject of controversy in a dispute with Daniel Negreanu. Deeb contested Negreanu’s wording when he made a raise in a live poker tournament, and the conflict was prominently displayed on TV and talked about online. Deeb might change things around in the future, or maybe his luckbox is broken in the casino.UPDATE – Shaun recently played in the 2010 WSOP Ladies-Only event (as a result of a losing prop bet), but failed to make the money (like usual). For those of you who are wondering how he could play in a Ladies-Only event: due to anti-discriminatory laws, the WSOP can#8217;t legally exclude men from playing.#2 – Lex VeldhuisLex Veldhuis is the “lol” mention on this list. Somehow Veldhuis has managed to become a PokerStars Team Pro, play on High Stakes Poker, and get never-ending mentions on poker forums around the world. The question is, why? Veldhuis has never really done anything, online or offline (other than date Evelyn Ng).His cash game history is abysmal, and he has proven that he has no clue what he is doing against tough opponents. Veldhuis is one of the luckiest poker players if only because he has made a name for himself without ever doing anything. His live tournament results might not be impressive, but his ability to deceive the public deserves an award in itself.#3 – Isildur1Isilsur1, also known as Viktor Blom, might not have many live tournament results, but the ones he does have are laughable. His World Series of Poker Europe implosion has been posted and reposted on every poker forum on the Internet (video below):His aggressive style of play is perfect for some of the high stakes poker games that he plays on the Internet, but it is terrible for live (or even online) tournaments. Isildur1 is on this list for the quality of misstep that he provided in his primary televised appearance, but there is no reason why he can’t go on to have a successful live poker career.#4 – Chris MoneymakerHuh? Chris Moneymaker? He may come as a surprise on this list, but think about it, how did Moneymaker earn his Main Event seat in 2003? Through a satellite on PokerStars.com. (Moneymaker won a $39 18-man satellite, which put him into a direct qualifier to the Main Event, which he also won).He then proceeded to luckbox his way to a World Series of Poker Main Event victory, an accomplishment that would spur the online poker boom. Most players think of Moneymaker as a live player, but the reality is that he too was an online poker convert.#5 – Phil Galfond/Tom DwanPhil Galfond and Tom Dwan are two of the biggest names in all of online poker. They do not belong on this list, especially after their performances in 2010, but these two players stand to represent proof that online players can indeed play well live. Both in tournaments and cash games, Galfond and Dwan have proven that they know what they are doing in live events. Contrary to what Phil Hellmuth might believe (and hope), online players generally perform quite well in live environments.