How much does mult-tabling affect your "poker education?"

[Keyser112]

you can def. get out of micros with ABC, i went from NL 10 to NL 25 to NL 50 in just over 2 weeks. 12 tabling on FTP. maintained a 16 BI min each level.

[five4suited]

CDL, what hands are you playing in which positions to get your VPIP above 20? When I played LHE that meant expanding my stealing/LP range to pretty much any two, but in NL that isn't really worth the risk.

Generally speaking, of course. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[dividius]

This is a great topic. I've never really liked the concept of multi-tabling in terms of furthering ones game. It teaches you important concepts that every poker player should know, but it can only do so much for you, and can even create bad habits (acting too quickly before properly analyzing all of the available information, for example.)

The pluses are, obviously, profit-maximization. What little profit you lose from forsaking a small amount of value in an individual hand is more than made up for in the quantity of hands played against bad opponents.

However, in terms of advancing a player's overall poker skills, MT-ing can only take you so far. If you try to play a live game against good live game players, for example, your online, multi-tabling skills obviously go out the window. It's a whole new ballgame and some don't make the proper adjustments.

I usually don't multi-table, mainly because of the reasons given by OP and others. That, and ABC poker bores the ever-living crap out of me. I inevitably end up out-thinking myself and pulling some elaborate play that is completely useless in the situation I'm in. That's a big part of why I play live a lot more (and a lot better) than I do online. I've always felt that if you stick me at a live table made up of solid, ABC multi-tablers, that I would completely annihilate them. I haven't been able to prove my hypothesis yet (to my knowledge...there's a chance this has already happened and I'm just not aware of it.)

That being said, if you really want to roll your way out of the micros, ABC multi-tabling is the most effective way to do it. It pains me to say that, but there's really no way around it.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: are you trying to become a better player or are you trying to make as much money as possible? Obviously, we're all trying to do both, but you inevitably have to sacrifice one or the other, even if it's only a little bit.

I'm of the mindset that you'll mainly get better by playing against better players. How many of the players you see at NL10 are better than you are?

[grouchie]

at each "level" you have to improve your game somewhat in order to advance.

Sure, playing multiple tables and playing ABC Tag poker will take you from 2NL to 100NL, but there are still several adjustments that need to be made along the way in order to continue your progress I think.

Also, in order to build your way up to the higher levels you have to be doing something right to consistently add buy-ins to your bankroll.

My advice to everyone who is playing the micro's is to learn to multi-table effectively, working your way up to however many tables you can still win at and feel comfortable.

Learn ABC poker really well, work your way up.

Once you get to 50NL or 100NL then start dropping the number of tables down and work on playing a game involving reads and outplaying people post-flop.

You definitely want to get down the ABC game before anything else though, or at least I think so.

[CalledDownLight]

[ QUOTE ]
CDL, what hands are you playing in which positions to get your VPIP above 20? When I played LHE that meant expanding my stealing/LP range to pretty much any two, but in NL that isn't really worth the risk.

Generally speaking, of course. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]


Pairs and AJs+, KQs+ and AQo+ from every position. Add suited connectors a small % of the time up front and more often in MP. Stuff like J10s and 89s and the bigger connectors I play basically 100% from MP1 and on. I will 3bet and flat call hands like A10 and KJ if I have position on bad players (pretty much everyone at the stakes I play). Raise Axs from MP2 and on and some big kings, Ax from CO and all kinds of [censored] from btn. Resteal light from the blinds and btn. Thats pretty much it. Oh and suited 1 gappers from MP2 and on and call all kinds of hands if flop is going to be 4-5 handed (talking about 45o, 96s, K5s type hands and look for a monster).