Picking Tables....

[vervius 0]

i play a single table, nothing more except maybe a tourny/sng here and there. we all know of the 3-6-12 tabling folk who just sit and wait on aces/kings/etc. my question is, in the long run, which have you seen to work better for yourself. obviously there's no "this is better" but im just curious how this community likes to rock.

[dreamcrusher28 0]

I usually 7-table, 4 cash games and 3 1-table SnG's. I find it helps me be more patient, but I'm hardly a nutpeddler. If I take a beating on one I just close it down and focus on my other games, which is my method of tilt prevention. Seems to work for the most part. Once that table is closed the loss is forgotten quickly since I still have many decisions to make.Only place multitabling seems to hurt is in Stud8, where I tend to miss some of the cards that are folded. But at the limits I play its a wash since 80% of my opponents are drooling idiots.

[craiger 0]

Holy sh*t dude, 7 tabling with 3 SNGs? You are an animal. How can you even get up to pee??? I play 2 cash tables and 1 tourney. Max.

[shinychicken 0]

I typically play 8 tables at a time, but I do it more for rakeback reasons. I am able to play my normal game and just more aggressive closer to the button and I don't think that I have that much of a drop off in value. Its all about making sound decisions and moving on to the next table. The big thing is asking what are you trying to accomplish at poker? I am trying to build up a bigger bankroll on all the sites I play on and get as many hands in as possible for rakeback.

[dreamcrusher28 0]

Holy sh*t dude, 7 tabling with 3 SNGs? You are an animal. How can you even get up to pee??? I play 2 cash tables and 1 tourney. Max.

Having a second monitor and no morals helps. I just wiz on the floor.

[jmkiser 0]

i play a single table, nothing more except maybe a tourny/sng here and there. we all know of the 3-6-12 tabling folk who just sit and wait on aces/kings/etc. my question is, in the long run, which have you seen to work better for yourself. obviously there's no "this is better" but im just curious how this community likes to rock.

That's the big misconception.My biggest problem online for awhile was boredom. I would do only one table (or at most 2) and end up ignoring it for the internet while the losses slowly crept up. Because of being bored, I also played way too many hands plus did a whole bunch of unprofitable things.It's been a little bit of work and focus, but I am now comfortable with 4 tables up at once. That way, I'm always making decisions, I'm always watching what's going on, etc... With PokerTracker and GameTime+ going, I'm able to have extra information on my players without having to watch one table consistently.I used to worry that all that extra stuff bastardized the game and that I would be a terrible poker player because I wasn't learning anything. Wrong! I focus so much more on the hands and strategy. The practice I'm getting in of being in every different situation possible has been astounding. Not only that, but I forgot the key element of what I was doing in the first place. I'm playing online poker. I'm not playing live poker. I think too many try to emulate what they do in their casino when the log in and jump in their games. You're missing out on way too many dollars by not utilizing every advantage of information that you can and not utilizing the tools provided for maximum value (the ability to multi-table, game selection, etc.). People flat out play differently and they are completely different games. My B&M game is extremely loose passive all the time because that is what the locals do. Online, you're playing against anybody everywhere. You're also making decisions without the casino environment (chips, noise, live people, dealer, etc). So when I think of poker live vs. poker online, I have to realize that I'm playing a different game (very much like playing Holdem AND Omaha).So now that I understand that I'm playing a different game, let's focus on what we're doing again. Online poker, right. Ok, how can we be the best online poker player we can be? Ask yourself that question. I hear the same advice all the time about how you should turn the tv off, turn the cell off, put a muzzle on the dog, tie your wife and kids up and throw them in the basement, etc. to prepare for playing online. That shit is retarded. What you should do is prepare yourself for being able to focus on the computer. What can you do that will get your best attention? For me, it's being busy. I need to be constantly doing something. Not overwhelming myself, but I need to have a pace. That pace for me is 4 tables of the same stakes ring game (4 tables of lo8 .25/.50, 4 tables of fr lhe .25/.50, 3 tables of shlhe .25/.50, etc). On top of that, loud music helps me feel like I'm in a poker playing vacuum. I'll load up two albums of a certain amount of time and play through all of them. This way, when I get bored during the 2 seconds of non-action that might occur, I can tap out the rhythm to whatever is playing while I'm still watching all my tables. Then, once the music wraps up... I wrap up my games or add another album if I'm in the zone.With that taken care of, we have to focus on how we're going to beat people online (the point is to win). Information is money and if you have more information then your opponents, well... you get the point. For most people, the PokerTracker software will pay for itself as long as you do a few things with it.A. Get an onscreen program like GameTime+ (that's what I use) to have live stats of each player on your screen as you're playing! Use the stats while you play. Someone in EP raises 4x bb, you call with 99 on the button and the blinds fold. You're HU and the flop comes down K62. What do you do? Well, what is your opponent's range? Check his freakin' live stats for a read and make your decision on how to progress from there.B. Actually utilize the database to find holes in your game. Are you aggressive enough? Do you play too many hands early and not enough hands late? Are you playing suited connectors profitably (I'm not right now for some reason )? What are you doing with pocket pairs? How is your blind play?etc etc etc etc etcI can't believe I just typed all this. Oh well, I'm posting it. Um.. yeah..Summary: Online is not live. Online is online. Find out what you're best with online to win. Some people can only focus on one table at a time. Some people have to have more then one going. You should be doing what you're comfortable with and doing it to the best of your ability. Oh yeah, and multi-tabling is not nut peddling.

[navybuttons 15]

we all know of the 3-6-12 tabling folk who just sit and wait on aces/kings/etc. my question is, in the long run, which have you seen to work better for yourself. obviously there's no "this is better" but im just curious how this community likes to rock.

jm touched a lot on this. but think about it this way: durr and cts are 2 of the best NLHE players in the world by many accounts. they can 8 table at close to the highest stakes very profitably. is it that their game is robotic? obviously not. they just have such a sickly developed ability. i'd imagine that anyone who worked incredibly hard could probably achive the same ability.

my question is, in the long run, which have you seen to work better for yourself. obviously there's no "this is better" but im just curious how this community likes to rock.

in the long run more tables equals more profit, although there is a peak and eventually each table will decrease your profit. when you feel really comfortable with reads on players at one table bring up another. after a month of solid 2 tabling when you can have reads on all the players bring up another table. etc. sbrugby says his max is 4, which imo is a pretty solid number to shoot for.i would 8 table 6-max when i used to play NLHE cash games. i usually 2-4 table HUPLO8 when i was playing that. now i single table HULHE.for 8 tabling a great computer and monitor set-up is SO SO nice. it can't be overstated how much easier life is when you have tons of monitor space.(stupid brag: i got a veritcal 20inch next to the 30 inch )

[Frez 0]

Holy sh*t dude, 7 tabling with 3 SNGs? You are an animal. How can you even get up to pee???

What am I the only guy ever to take the laptop into the can?!?Well written jmkiser. I do like the idea of playing for a certain amount of time with the music as a guide.

[AcesOnFire 0]

I play up to 15 tables, and I don't just sit there and wait for the big hands.EDIT: On a 17" monitor. I'd kill for two 30" Samsungs...

[vervius 0]

great replies. thanks all!EDIT: and a quick, apology if it was insulting with the "we all know of the 3-6-12 tabling folk who just sit and wait on aces/kings/etc." thing i said to ya jm. simply a quick generalization to spark the topic. (only going from my experience with about 7-8 . 5/.10cent regulars who do.)

[Bshealey786 0]

If I'm playing cash games then i'll play 2 tables at once, but I think 4 is a good number to strive for. I know this part doesn't make sense...but if I multitable sit n gos I don't win any, if I play 1 at a time I almost always cash, and usualy win about 60%. Heh it is crazy I know, and im sure its just coincidence but because of this I only do 1 sit n go at a time.