I actually played online a lot starting in 2001 when I first came to the US. It was great, loads of free money to sign with sites, no bs involved in cashing out, and freerolls (upto $500)with 100-200 people with real cash prizes. I played mostly on Planet Poker and Royal Vegas,(although had about 10 sites downloaded on my pc at one point) I won about 15K between them both and only ever made one deposit on RV to confirm my identity. Royal Vegas would even send me $50 on my birthday, and $10-$20 from time to time if I didnt play for a while. Up until I came to the US I had never played a game of Holdem in my life, so I was by no means good, I had played stud and draw for years so it wasnt hard to figure out what to do. I probably was one of the fish, but obviously not as much as others.
Moneymaker brought a lot more money online but also a lot more sharks, and then the UIGEA killed it completely for me. Too much crap trying to get money onto the sites.
I havent played in a while, and now that I am a king addict probably wont for a while, and have still not ever played a live game of holdem.
Good luck with your games, its interesting to see the various swings you are having both online and live.