Is it possible to be better OTB chess than online?

If so, what does that mean. 

yes i'm a lot better at chess over the board than online. it's not a bad thing either.

It depends on what you mean by "better".

Does better mean that you play better OTB, or that you are higher rated OTB?

If you are playing daily chess your opponents could legitimately be using the game explorer or some other database, which they wouldn't be able to do in an OTB game. If you don't use the game explorer and they do then they have a possible advantage straight away.

Different players also have different attitudes to online chess, some want to win, while others just use it to practice... only really caring about the results they get OTB...

Yes, you can eat a messy curry OTB; the chomping, dribbling and slimed playing surface will put your opponent off.

Well, online I'm 1200 rapid. Yesterday first tournament, player against a 1750 dutch rated player, almost won, lost due to mistake, but i pressured him all the way to the end.

So I do mean with better, higher rated. 

What counts for ratings is not how well you played throughout the game - but ONLY the final result. 

One of the reasons that lower-rated players do poorly against higher-rated players, is that when you have an awful position against someone who's rated much lower - you can almost count on him botching it in the most unbelievable way at some point.

Here or there there is something he didn't understand, or didn't see, or didn't have enough time, or was overtaken by emotions - the lower-rated players have areas of insecurity that cost them these well-played games.

you need to cut down on online chess. it's healthy to play online but you play too much if that's the case.

I would say it is easier to play better (be higher rated) OTB. But the main question is what you prefer, since the two games (OTB and online) are very different. Online you can sit back, relax, put on some music, and play. In a tournament, you hear the clocks, the sighs, chairs moving and people whispering, and of course you have time to really think about ideas. Games tend to stick with you longer when you battle for 3-4 hours…
Basically, you can achieve a higher rating online if you also play OTB. And I reckon there are lots of players who are stronger in OTB since they prefer to take their time when playing the game, and do not like to blitz things out. Hope that helps!

No, because OTB the tournament authorities and their facilities (including bathrooms) prevent you from using a chess engine, or any other electronic device!!!

read the question. you've completely misunderstood what the OP meant. 

By all means its better to be better OTB and take online for fun.

IF you are better online and take it more serious since you dont play OTB... then i have bad news for you. Yes its a lot of fun, but you will get addicted.. thousands of blitz and bullet games.. yes you will have a lot of wins even against title players but that joy will end... then it comes the PAIN and FRUSTRATION.. you better quit and play chess OTB if you can.

Yeah. OTB games I take seriously. Games online are just skittles games.

On the other hand if you are bad online.. unless you have OTB title nobody will respect your high OTB rating if you are crap at blitz ... and low rated beats you. Because you directly show how bad you are at chess right at that very moment when you lost vs some unknown online patzer..

playing OTB allows you to feel the emotional pressure that a computer doesn't give. in my opinion OTB is better

The OTB atmosphere (tournament), tends to drive you a little bit more as opposed to casually playing online (as stated by others above).

Add to that ...you'll find OTB opponents (as opposed to those online) tend see the value of post-game interaction. Going over their thought-process, analyzing varied lines. And sometimes, this attracts other players to your table, offering their inputs.  Correcting & learning from these discussions results in playing "better."

Playing online usually ends with "gg" or "rematch." Or go on playing another player.

Of course. I'm much better OTB than online, and there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, the environment is entirely different. Online, I'll be half-focusing, listening to music, doing something else, whereas OTB, there are practically no distractions. Secondly, actually having 3d pieces helps visualization. Thirdly, the time control is entirely different from what I play online, 5-6 hour games is different from anything I'd play on live. As a side-note to that, my USCF quick rating is also above 2000, but it's lower than my regular, and I'd say that even though I'm bad at quick time controls, all the quick tournaments I play are against almost all 1800s and below, and so I can just easily make them fear me. Realistically, I'm only slightly better than they are at fast time controls, but because my rating starts with a 2, I can take it a long way. Fourthly, the stakes are much higher. I'm playing to get my rating up to 2200, get my NM title, and get free stuff. Online, nothing matters.

lmao. Blitz is how you gauge talent? Are you joking? Blitz isn't even chess, dude. It bares almost no semblance. I'm proud to admit that my blitz rating is barely over 1900 OTB. Your mouse-handling ability and internet connection matter as much as your skill, online. Anybody I lose to in blitz online, given my blitz rating, I'd wipe off the board in a G120 i/30 type situation. If you honestly think blitz means anything regarding chess ability, you're deluded.

Well, we sometimes also do analyze online with other people - see the many forums and threads. And on other cases we're content with 3 min blitz and gg. It really depends. 

Of course, going out of home for OTB is already an occasion - so you do tend to invest more in the interaction.