In reality online is far far tougher than live games. After the UIGEA was passed, a lot of poker sites closed their doors and a lot of casual poker players moved on to "legal" things, many back to home games/casinos. These players were usually the "fish" in games. Because of this, online games are far far harder to beat than live fields. Combine that with the fact that people play reckless in freerolls but play tight in real live games and you have a recipe for what you've been experiencing.