Table Selection

March 15, 2009

When choosing to sit down at a poker ring game online, most players don’t tend to think of all the small things that will affect how much money they could potentially make. Most players sit down thinking they are just going to rule the table only to be over ran by some other aggressive player or to sit and play only a couple hands per hour. Neither one will make you money. Below we have a few suggestions on poker table selection and why it is important and what to look for when choosing a table.
Why is Table Selection Important?

Quite frankly, how is it not important? Very few people go play online for simple carefree fun, caring less about the money they win. No, most of us go online to win big bucks. And what is the first thing you do after logging in? You go find a table to play at. Here is a few things to look for when selecting a table and why they are important:
High % of players to see the flop. This will generally mean a looser table. The higher the better as this will generally mean that players are limping in with mediocre hands. Most of these players can probably be pushed off their hands on the flop.

High Average Pot. Obviously the more money in the pot, the more you can win. This is important because combined with the flop %, it will give you an idea of how far the hand is played on average and an idea of the players betting tendencies.

Hands per Hour. For those of you that are unfamiliar with a clock, there is 60 minutes per hour. So if you are playing 60 hands per hour, that is 1 per minute. So 120 hands per hour would break down to 2 hands per minute. This is pretty fast and if combined with loose players, it can mean a quick payday for you.

These are only a few of the many things you should look at when finding a table. Consider it “window shopping.” You are trying to find the best deal which in the end will make you the most money.

table-selection

This is a picture from Full Tilt. As you can see on the “Fink” table, they have almost 2.5 players going to the flop every hand and have an average pot of $30. What this can tell you is that the hand only goes to the flop in most cases and at times sees the river. ( 2.5 players/flop X $6 = $15/flop ) So a minimum bet would see the turn and a pot size bet would end it on the flop. Not too bad figuring every 6 hands you will see the flop 2-3 times. You will have the potential to make a profit of $50 every round ( $30average–your blinds) and you will see a little over 22 rounds of play per hour.

Do the math… ( 137 hands per hour/6 players =22.8 rounds X $50 = $1140) This example of course is over exaggerated, but hopefully you can see that if everything was tighter, say cut in half, then the potential profits would minimal. If you could find more money per pot per hour in this example, you would be in heaven.

Actual Game Play

When you choose your table it will be very important to observe it for a few hands before you sit down. What you are looking for is open seats, how loose or tight the game is compared to the numbers, and everyones chip stacks. What you are hoping to find is loosing players and lazy play. And by that we mean weak raises, lots of limpers, and calls with weak hands. Here is a few things to look for when you sit down and start playing:

You want position on loose and aggressive players for obvious reasons
Sitting to the right of a tight player is optimal, allowing you to apply pressure and inducing folds
Lots of limpers playing A-Rags, being out kicked
Weak calls, raises, and steals

If most of these things aren’t going your way, feel free to find another table before it gets to late. With 100+ hands per player you should know right away if you will be sitting at a easy table or not.

In closing, we hope that these tips help you with your poker table selection needs. It is very important to know what to look for when choosing a table, so you can increase your profits with minimal effort. Good luck at the tables.

Latest Headlines

Sections

Random Posts

Table Selection

Comments

Archives