Why so many tables?

[Daniel Jay]

Dumb question, but how in the world do alot of you play more than one table at a time? Im totally focused on the table im on, i just cant see how people can play more than maybe 2 tables at once.

[Spechel EDD]

i dunno man but sometimes i get the same cards on my tables and it leads me to believe that the whole poker site is so rigged

then i see the same flops over and over and im POSITIVE that the sites are rigged

[JereLock]

I play no more than 2, half because I'm not good enough to multi more, and half because 1 is boring to me.

I'm going to assume that once you master one table so that your reaction to each hand is almost second nature, multitabling won't be hard

[phydaux]

I started with just one table at a time. Played that way for about six months, then moved to two tables. After another two months I added a third table, then a fourth.

I usually play four tables at a time. If I move up in stakes I play two tables, but I play two "Fast" tables if I'm only playing two. Once I get comfortable at the stakes I'm playing then I play four regular tables at a time with no problems.

In the name of God, if you are comfortable at all playing one table, then play two tables at a time. You're going to be folding 75% of your hands anyway. Odds are if you're only playing two tables they you won't be involved on both tables after the flop at the same time, so your concentration really won't be divided.

Playing more tables means you'll be playing more hands per hour. If you have a skill advantage then that means more profit for you. Also, playing more hands means less variance, since you'll play through your downswings faster.

[gregorio]

Seriously, I can't see how anyone plays just 1 table without dying from boredom. I would play way too loose if I was only at one table.

[basementproject]

Daniel-

Depending on the player, it has to do with a) Increased winrate /hour or b) Decreased boredom.

Sometimes both.

For me it's both.

[gedanken]

well, I can certainly see where 1 table can be enough. You certainly get more comfortable multitabling as you gain experience, but I'm playing only one fairly frequently, and rarely more than 2.

I'm trying to get better at reading opponents, spotting weaknesses, and trying to exploit those. I'm watching hands I'm not involved in and trying to learn things. At more than two tables I suspect you start dealing with many players as "types", based largely on HUD stats, and only pick up idiosyncrasies from the more eccentric players. Maybe with experience, that's both easier and more reliable.

At no-limit, you don't need to apologize for playing only 1 table at a time, in my opinion. I remember Pokey himself saying he plays generally 2, sometimes 3, sometimes 1. This sort of attitude helps build hand-reading skills and a non-robot thought process that will be at least as useful to you, if you move up, as the money earned multi-table-grinding at a level you can beat without paying all that much attention.

[waffle]

[ QUOTE ]
i dunno man but sometimes i get the same cards on my tables and it leads me to believe that the whole poker site is so rigged

then i see the same flops over and over and im POSITIVE that the sites are rigged

[/ QUOTE ]

Edd, you suck at trolling the beginner forum.

[Nsight7]

I get bored at even three or four tables. About 9-12 is my sweet-spot.

[DrStrangePork]

Just give it a shot and try to play two tables at once. When I first started playing, I thought that I was just too ADD to play more than one table at a time. I thought the pros multi-ed up to four tables, just because they were pros. Then I just decided to try - I played two 10-person SNG's at the same time. Before either game was over, I was like, "Oh my God, why haven't I done this before?" Just like moving up in stakes in poker - move up when you are ready - start with two tables, and when you can handle that, move up one more table.

Personally, I multi-table 3 at a time now, because that is all my 15" LCD and I can handle. But like other have already said, 9-12 tables is possible, and I've seen pictures of the multi-tabler's paradise of three 21" LCD's side-by-side, all with 4 tables each.