Table Selection

Bankroll: $1,150.21

Published on January 9, 2006 By PacDragon In Gaming

I did pretty good this weekend, scored about $80 total. As predicted, the tables were great Friday night. My favorite tables are the ones where there are a lot of players that call one bet before the flop, but rarely raise before the flop. This let's me play a lot of marginal hands at a profit, like small pocket pairs or Ace-something suited. I love those hands because they usually don't require much decision making. If I have a small pair, I'll only continue with it if I get a three of a kind. Otherwise, I can safely fold it. Same with the Ax suited. If I get a flush, or a flush draw, I'll stick around. If not, I'll toss the hand away.

If not many people see the flop, or if it gets raised early & often, those hands aren't profitable any longer. I have to sit back and wait for something better. Once the table starts getting like that, I'll pick up and move to a new one.

How do I find tasty tables? How do I know when a table is starting to go bad? I'd like to tell you it's because of my superior skills of perception, but that's not really the case. One of the great things about playing online is that you've got a computer right there to help you out. Use it. I run a piece of software called Poker Tracker. It's great, it's a log analyzer that goes through your hand history and generates stats. It's excellent for pouring through your history looking for mistakes or leaks in your game. It's also great for compiling detailed stats on your opponents. If you combine that software with Poker Ace Hud, you can overlay those stats directly on your poker game.

So not only do I get to see some quick stats on my opponents, but I also get to see the stats for the table as a whole. What I normally do is log into the site, then pull up ten tables. I'll let the software start gathering stats while I go do something else, like grab dinner, play a sit & go, read a book, whatever. After about a half an hour, I'll have some pretty good stats on all the tables I'm watching. Then I'll pick two with a lot of passive players, that are seeing a lot of flops, and get myself on the waiting lists. When a seat opens up, I'll sit down and start playing. After a while, the fish run out of money, leave the table, and get replaced by sharks. They must be doing the same thing I am, because whenever the stats get really good for a table, there are a ton of sharks who start filling up the waiting lists. I see the same people all the time. Anyway, once the fish are gone and it's just sharks feeding on each other, I'll find another table with good stats and repeat the process.

Table selection is probably the single most important element of being a winning player. “If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, you are the sucker.”

Comments

stutefish

on Jan 09, 2006

So what will be your strategy for learning to spot table types in real life, where you have no computer aid?

PacDragon

on Jan 09, 2006

It's a lot tougher when you're playing live. At a casino, you don't really get to choose which table you're at. You just put your name on the list and get the first seat that opens up. After about a half-hour to an hour, you should be able to figure out if the table is good or not. If the table is too tough, you can ask for a table change. Then you'll just get the first open seat at a different table.

You'll have to rely on your memory, notes, and powers of perception to recognize the sharks that you should avoid. And since you won't have a computer that can lable someone as a fish, you'll have to use clues to make educated guesses. Have they rebought a few times? Are they drinking? Did you just see them call two raises with 92o?

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