Poker Multi tabling – Multi Table in Online Poker

Why Multi Table in Poker?

The answer to that is relatively simple. You play more tables to win more money. It’s an easy equation to follow. You know that on average you earn five big blinds every 100 hands you play. Therefore, by the application of simple math, if you play four poker tables simultaneously then you should earn 20 big blinds every 100 hands.

Right?

Wrong!

Multi tabling in poker is one of those rare instances where the formula “1+1=2” does not hold true. Not unless you can clone yourself that is.

Juggling multiple poker tables

The reason that this simple mathematical formula fails to apply to multi tabling is because the more tables you simultaneously play on, the more your poker playing ability deteriorates.

Have you ever been to a circus and seen the act where a juggler attempts to keep numerous plates spinning on top of poles? The performer frantically runs from pole to pole, trying to keep the plates from falling. The more plates he adds, the more frenzied his movements become. He might be a very good juggler, but once he has a lot of plates going all he can do is give them a quick spin and run to the next one.

That’s exactly what happens in multi tabling in poker.

Online poker is fast paced game, requiring you to make your poker decisions quickly. Playing more than one table simultaneously means you have to make those decisions even faster, resulting in confusion and poor decision making.

You will find that you begin to lose a little of your edge with each additional table that you play as your attention becomes divided and the action becomes harder to follow. In this situation it is easy to make the wrong decision, resulting in a decrease in your overall winnings.

What all this means is that you need to find the maximum number of tables that you can play at without hurting your profits.

For example, let us assume you normally win $10.00 an hour while playing on a single table. When you play on two tables at the same time your win rate drops to $8.00 per table per hour. You are still making $16 per hour, so this is still a no-brainer decision. When you add another table, for a total of three, your win rate drops to $6 dollars per table per hour, but you are still making more money than if you were only playing on two. However, when you increase to four tables in online poker you notice that your win rate drops to $4.00 per table per hour, making it less profitable to play on four tables than on three.

Each table you add splits your attention and makes each game individually less profitable, despite the fact that adding more online poker tables increases your overall hourly win rate. As the calculation above shows, it is important not to add more tables than you are comfortable with.

In addition, you are going to get tired quicker when you are playing several tables at once because your mind has to cope with more decisions. If you can play three tables for four hours straight, but find yourself exhausted after just an hour of simultaneously playing four tables, then it’s going to be more profitable to stick to three tables because you can play longer and thus win more money.

I, Robot

Playing on a large number of tables tends to make your play switch to automatic mode, leaving you clicking your mouse like a robot. This happens when there are simply too many decisions to make and you are struggling to keep up, so you take mental shortcuts.

In doing this you are actually stunting your poker education because you are not learning anything new. Instead you are just going through the motions of playing.

This is especially important when you are moving up levels in online poker. For example, if you have just shifted from micro-stake games to low stake games, then it is probably more worth it for you to play on a single table until you are comfortable with your new level. You will learn more about the game in this way, because if you try to multi table and play on automatic you will probably discover that the tactics that allowed you to dominate micro-stakes tables, no longer work on the low stakes ones.

However, playing several tables will enable you to see a huge number of hands every hour and thus gain you a lot of experience very quickly. So you need to make a tradeoff between knowledge and experience.

Once you do have some experience under your belt and are familiar with the level of the game you are playing in, you can begin to gradually increase the number of tables you play on. As you become accustomed to the tactics that work and the types of opponents you are likely to face, so you can rely more on established playing patterns. Your decision making becomes faster, and you can comfortably increase the number of tables you play on.

Don’t forget that the level of expertise you have in the particular form of online poker will also be a factor. If all you ever play is No Limit Hold’em and then you switch to Omaha, you obviously won’t be able to play as many online poker tables in your new game as you do in the one you are very familiar with. Again, build your comfort levels gradually.

Conclusion

Ultimately, your goal in online poker is to win as much money as possible. While your friends might be playing ten tables at once, don’t let that influence you. You should play the maximum number of tables that wins you the maximum number of dollars.

And if you are a fan of short-handed tables, bear in mind that the action is going to move even quicker than on full tables. So you might want slightly less short-handed ones on your screen.

While you should be aiming to remain in your comfort zone, there are a few recommendations that you should keep in mind:

• Play fewer hands over all. You cannot get a decent read on all the players at several tables, so stick to playing premium hands and those that are going to be easy to play post-flop.
• Focus on the important decisions. Make sure you make the right moves on the important hands.
• Use software to help you. Most poker analysis software comes with a Heads Up Display that can display vital information about your opponents while you play. This can greatly speed up your decision making.

At the end of the day, you need to play comfortably to play profitably. If that means playing on a single table, then that’s what you should do. But if you can muster the flurry of activity that multi-tabling in online poker brings, then you also open up the potential for multiplying your profits. And that’s never a bad thing.