What's the best way to practice?

Hi,
I've not been playing poker for very long and at the minute I'm trying to learn to read players and pick up on certain things they do but I'm having trouble specifically while playing online.
I've noticed that when playing online the speed of the games are usually far too fast for me to pick up on things and I feel like I'm trying to take in too much info at once. And if I try to make a note instead of remembering everything I end up having 10 seconds left to act on the next hand before I'm half-way through writing it.
I also play fairly regularly with some friends but nowhere near as much as I do online. As you would expect it's at a much slower and relaxed speed and I feel that it would be easier to remember things. I normally play in a group of 5 or 6 as well instead of the 9 or 10 online so I wouldn't have as many people to try and remember.
My question is should I practice trying to read how players play in real games first and build up to being able to read and remember more things quickly when playing in online games or should I just go straight for trying online? I feel that if I try to do it when it's too quick I'll never make any progress but if I try learning in real games it'll take me a long time because I play them far less and I play against the same people every week so eventually I'll not be able to learn much more from playing them.
Also if anyone has any ideas on how to become better at noting and remembering certain things that would be very much appreciated

The more games you play and the more info you read (either here or poker books)...the better you will get at knowing what to do when the time comes to make a decision. There are many times I use my time bank to try and figure out what the other person has. I suggest also trying out PokerTracker because you can go back and watch the hands that you have played and also find leaks in your game. You can get Pokertracker from the PokerTracker website. Also, Here is ChuckT's guide for Poker Tracker.

-MavsFan

I didn't answer your question in my first reply ...so here it is :
If I were you, since you said you dont play many live games, then definitely play online. There is sooo much to learn from playing online and in real life. You can benefit from both. If it is too fast for you to begin with, try playing with play chips or freerolls to get a feel for it without losing any money. With practice you will learn

-MavsFan

Practice also helps, it took me many hours online to get any reads on players. Now I read some hands pretty good although I have lately been having problems reading hands as I have been on a major downswing leading to tilting.

In essence the main component to good reads is practice. At some point you will start to figure the hands your opponents are playing.

The best way to practice is obviously to just play.

As regards 'reading' players, I think it's HOH1 that says if you're a novice to just concentrate on the two players to your immediate right and one to your left, and branch out to the rest of the table if and when you get comfortable. The skill will come with practice, though.

Live and online poker are two totally different beasts, and there is a world of difference between online 'reads' (which are primarily based on betting patterns) and live 'reads' (which can be based on a whole host of things depending on the particular opponent). As such, practice in one is not necessarily good practice for the other.