Adding Tables

I generally 4 or 5 table my turbo sng's. I've made decent profits doing this for a while now, so I wanted to increase volume and play more tables. I've tried a couple of times to play 6, 7, and 8 tables. Everybody says playing more tables lowers variance (which makes sense), but I always seem to do poorly when I try this. I don't know if I'm rushing, feeling added pressure, or just making poor decisions. I've been looking at it from different angles: Maybe I'm playing more loosely because I feel as if each decision is not as important as if I was playing 4 tables...

Anyways, does anybody have advice on how to effectively add tables? You should know I stack, since I use tournament indicator without a HUD, which is my preferred format. Any tips would be great. I just feel like this is a must to become a strong player. I do very well 4 tabling, but everybody that profits big seems to be playing 8+tables simul

The best way I've found to add tables is to do it 1 more at a time until you are comfortable there and not adding another until then. I only add a table when I'm to the point that I'm bored playing the amount I have open and feel I have extra time to do other things like browse cardschat forums.

After a while so many of the moves you make will become instinct that you have to spend less time thinking and it frees up more time. Also, by playing more tables you can play tighter because you are folding more hands but seeing more action due to the high amount of tables you are playing.

I had the same problem. I played 6 tables and went to 8 tables. But there were
still a lot of situations where I didn't know what to do. When you analyse your
game (hand histories) and take out the questionable decisions you will learn what to
do in almost every situation. Then you will be able to add tables without worrying you'll make more mistakes.

you are going to be limited in the numbre of tables you play by not using a hud.

get a hud if yo ureally want to add tables...

I have the ability to use the HUD with my tournament indicator, but I don't like the way the numbers take up the entire poker table. I prefer having the data attatched at the bottom. Even if I did use the HUD, how is it supposed to make a difference? If I'm tiling like 9 tables at once, how am I supposed to see the numbers? All I have is a regular sized laptop. I don't have the funds to invest in a large monitor or a desktop. I'm playing 6 comfortably now, but that seems to be my limit without affecting my ROI%

bonflizubi said:

you are going to be limited in the numbre of tables you play by not using a hud.

get a hud if yo ureally want to add tables...

Click to expand...

I've tried using a HUD before and with more tables it seems more stuff to look at and take into consideration. I've only used a HUD "properly" for a few games and found it overwhelming all the stuff you have to take in...

IF you have 10 tables for example without a HUD, you have all the basics to take in. Position, M, stacks, blinds, pot odds etc. With the HUD you have all the other shite to deal with, so how do you do it?

zackryan28 said:

I have the ability to use the HUD with my tournament indicator, but I don't like the way the numbers take up the entire poker table. I prefer having the data attatched at the bottom. Even if I did use the HUD, how is it supposed to make a difference? If I'm tiling like 9 tables at once, how am I supposed to see the numbers? All I have is a regular sized laptop. I don't have the funds to invest in a large monitor or a desktop. I'm playing 6 comfortably now, but that seems to be my limit without affecting my ROI%

Click to expand...

I also find the same thing in that I'd like to have more tables up on the screen but the HUD means that the numbers take up too much of the screen. I've just bought a 40" TV and will look into the possibility of buying a cable linking my laptop to that to see if it that may enhance the visuals. Anyone else had similar experience?

zackryan28 said:

I have the ability to use the HUD with my tournament indicator, but I don't like the way the numbers take up the entire poker table. I prefer having the data attatched at the bottom. Even if I did use the HUD, how is it supposed to make a difference? If I'm tiling like 9 tables at once, how am I supposed to see the numbers? All I have is a regular sized laptop. I don't have the funds to invest in a large monitor or a desktop. I'm playing 6 comfortably now, but that seems to be my limit without affecting my ROI%

Click to expand...

Definitely don't tile. Stack tables, it will help immensely. At the very least cascade them.

Yeah, I'm a stacker for sure. I don't even like cascading because there's so much mouse movement and the tables just pop up all over the screen. When I was a break-even noob with no software I tiled, but without a huge screen to look at, it's not really feasible.

I guess my intent with this post was more psychological advice. To the guys that play a large number of tables: Do you feel rushed, especially when your on the bubble at several tables at once (and especially if your heads up at several tables). Heads up isn't too bad for me, since I use NASH/SAGE, my decisions are almost instantaneous. But around the bubble I still find myself over-thinking decisions and feeling pressured, even though my ICM knowledge is pretty strong.

I agree it is tough around the bubble because the decisions that were automatic in the early and middle stages are not always so much now. I don't use any extra software. I am experimenting with 27-player SNGs, as the stages seem to be a bit more staggered. If I open 8 tourneys, the last one starts when the first one is already around 20-30 minutes in.

I prefer to cascade just for ease of looking back on the last showdown in case it might help me with ranges.

Good luck!

bonflizubi said:

you are going to be limited in the numbre of tables you play by not using a hud.

get a hud if yo ureally want to add tables...

Click to expand...

i agree i think you ned a HUD if you are gonna play a lot of tables. It is not possible to get reads on players without it when you are 8 tabling. I think it is possible to make a profit at the lower sit n gos with out it, but as you add more tables it is gong to keep cutting your ave profit per sit n go. I can 2 table fine without a HUD, but once i play 4 tables i see myself stuck in a lot of spots wondering to call fold or reraise. Not only does a hud make me feel more comfortable with my plays, but it also keeps my multitabling profits close to what they are when im 2 tabling.

zackryan28 said:

I generally 4 or 5 table my turbo sng's. I've made decent profits doing this for a while now, so I wanted to increase volume and play more tables. I've tried a couple of times to play 6, 7, and 8 tables. Everybody says playing more tables lowers variance (which makes sense), but I always seem to do poorly when I try this. I don't know if I'm rushing, feeling added pressure, or just making poor decisions. I've been looking at it from different angles: Maybe I'm playing more loosely because I feel as if each decision is not as important as if I was playing 4 tables...

Anyways, does anybody have advice on how to effectively add tables? You should know I stack, since I use tournament indicator without a HUD, which is my preferred format. Any tips would be great. I just feel like this is a must to become a strong player. I do very well 4 tabling, but everybody that profits big seems to be playing 8+tables simul

Click to expand...

I'm using both Tournament indicator and PT3 HUD. Tournament Indicator Hud is very useful to know quickly how many BB you have. I also keep the player icon. I currently 4 tables on a laptop using tile... I will try something else. What I am not sure is how the game react if another table has an action? I don't want to push all-in on a table where I have aces but my screen flip to another table where the same button position allow me to call an all-in bet with 27

BY the way, I have the same issue as you: doing good 4 tabling but struggling and getting confused when trying to add tables..

Zync said:

I'm using both Tournament indicator and PT3 HUD. Tournament Indicator Hud is very useful to know quickly how many BB you have. I also keep the player icon. I currently 4 tables on a laptop using tile... I will try something else. What I am not sure is how the game react if another table has an action? I don't want to push all-in on a table where I have aces but my screen flip to another table where the same button position allow me to call an all-in bet with 27

Click to expand...

When you stack tables, the tables won't change until you make a decision on the one in front of you, so you don't really have to worry about misclicks. The only way you'll misclick is if you start checking in the boxes that say like "fold/check" before it's your turn to act. Don't do that, and you're fine.

zackryan28 said:

When you stack tables, the tables won't change until you make a decision on the one in front of you, so you don't really have to worry about misclicks. The only way you'll misclick is if you start checking in the boxes that say like "fold/check" before it's your turn to act. Don't do that, and you're fine.

Click to expand...

Do you fold in advance or you always wait a table waiting for you pops up? Can you quickly loop through your current table with a keyboard shortcut? Also, I assume that you still need to start one instance of Tournament indicator per table, isn't it?

The pros recommend that first, you keep good records. Over time, you determine your average win rate per table. As you add tables your win rate per table will go down but your overall take will be larger. For example, if you play 4 tables and win an average of $6.00 per hour per table, you will show a profit of $24/Hr. If yo play 8 tables your win rate per table might go down to $4.00 per hour per table, but your profit will be $32/Hr. You keep adding tables until your actual profit starts to diminish, then you drop a table or two and try to determine the optimum number of tables for your game. You tweak this over a long period and you'll get a pretty good idea of the maximum number of tables you can play for your highest total winning rate. Easier said than done!

idk.. seems pretty straightforward... no?
If you're multi-tabling turbo STT/SNG & if your goal is to eventually be playing many tables than yah, stacking would be the way to go. I'd just add one table at a time, gradually adding more over a period of time as I become comfortable with the amount I'm playing.
I personally don't stack tables ever because I never play that many at a time (maybe 4-6 tables & more often lately when playing SNG's I'm playing the 27's & 45's). Tiling is far better for me as I'm able to see what's going on in each game (player reads, stack sizes, etc. & am able to find better spots imo.. obv. less applicable in a turbo STT/SNG where the play is more robotic (< not sure if that's the word I'm looking for.. but prob know what I mean).
Tiling for me has been working fine with 4-6tables, even up to 8mtts at a time (also picked up another monitor at Christmas, a 24" that I can tile 12tables on with next to no overlap & am used to seeing them much smaller than this on laptops& with 9 on the new monitor they look frigg'n monstrous compared with what I'm used to). I'm also almost always playing on multiple sites while playing which makes tiling a necessity as well (I'll be playing 1-3 games from maybe 2 -4 sites).
Something I've also been using lately (past few mos.) I've found quite helpful is 'TournamentShark' by pokerprolabs. Quickly recognize who the regs. are, who are the winning players, ,who are the complete rookies, etc., which helps alot in hand-reading & decision making obv.
Depends what I'm playing as far as how many tables (again way different from someone who's playing the same games (STT-Turbo) at same buyin)... I might fire up a half-dozen micro MTT, or maybe 3 or 4 slightly bigger ones (bigger being relative.... 'bigger as far as what I'd typically play in') & for sure find I can play much better while playing fewer tables. I'd assume for someone with a fair bit of experience playing STT-Turbo it wouldn't be as big of a difference with an extra table or two,... just going to have to make your decisions a bit faster.

Question: Do you have a goal for how many tables you want to be playing at a particular buyin before moving up? I've watched guys in vids. playing ~20tables... pace seems pretty frantic but obviously do-able. I imagine it'd be fairly draining/tiring over a period of time.

Zync said:

Do you fold in advance or you always wait a table waiting for you pops up? Can you quickly loop through your current table with a keyboard shortcut? Also, I assume that you still need to start one instance of Tournament indicator per table, isn't it?

Click to expand...

I just make the decisions as they come to avoid misclicking. To cycle through my games, I just use the toolbar. I bet there is a way to set up a hotkeys, but I have never tried. And yes, one TI per table open. so it quickly becomes many applications running on your computer at once

Ok, I tried stacking tonight, 4 tabling. This is working as I expected. I prefer though the tile mode since like PO said, we can follow the action and takes note. Doing stack, you can't do so since you don't see all hands. Normally, tiling, I have time to see hands where's there showdown and if sometime a big pot is on and the hand looks strange, I replay the hand and takes note.

Then, 4 tabling, I'll keep the tile mode. Even 6 tables is possible. Hard thing to do so is to read the stack size. Also, HUD are messy with 6 tables. Then, I'll stack if play more than 4 tables.

Zync said:

Ok, I tried stacking tonight, 4 tabling. This is working as I expected. I prefer though the tile mode since like PO said, we can follow the action and takes note. Doing stack, you can't do so since you don't see all hands. Normally, tiling, I have time to see hands where's there showdown and if sometime a big pot is on and the hand looks strange, I replay the hand and takes note.

Then, 4 tabling, I'll keep the tile mode. Even 6 tables is possible. Hard thing to do so is to read the stack size. Also, HUD are messy with 6 tables. Then, I'll stack if play more than 4 tables.

Click to expand...

You should still be able to keep up on the action when you are stacking. Just flip to and from tables, paying attention to anything big that happens.