How Winning Players Choose The Right Table

Things you will learn:

• Why you should carefully choose which table to join
• How to spot tables where you're more likely to win

Choosing the right game can be the difference between cashing big and going bust. So learn to stake out your prey before you sit down.

Open up the PartyPoker.com software. Take a look through the $1/$2 six-max tables and there is a huge contrast. Some have as little as 18% of players seeing the flop up to a huge 51%. And the average pot size varies from, say, $9.22 to $41.15.

There are tables with up to four players who are multi-tabling and look like pro grinders and other tables with no such players. Clearly you're going to have a very different type of game across these tables and your edge and expected return is going to vary similarly. It's no exaggeration to say that you could go from being a losing proposition at one table to having a strong edge at another at the same online site, all dependent on which table you happen to sit at.

Using these two basic bits of information can prep you for what kind of action there is at any given table and is something you should study as habit. Average pot size gives you an indication of how active the game is and how willing players are to play big pots. The bigger the cash figure the more raises and re-raises are being slung around. The figure can be deceptive at times as it can be easily distorted if one or two huge hands run into each other putting two or more players in deep. More useful is the percentage of players seeing the flop. This tells you how loose a game is and is a reasonably reliable indicator of what kind of action you can expect. The bigger the number, the looser the players, and the more profitable the game could be.

Although it's possible to be a great loose player and exploit an equally loose game, as a rule of thumb you should be looking for players that will enter the pot with any two cards. Very roughly, when this figure gets towards 30% and over for nine or 10-handed games and is approaching or exceeding 40% for short-handed action, the game is going to be loose. In other words, it could be a good session if you play some disciplined poker.

This can be tricky at the lower limits, as it's the better players that tend to have the big stacks, but it's a good guideline to follow. Identifying multi-tabling players should always be part of your table selection regime. If you play on the same site for a while the names of the professional winning players should become familiar and easy to spot and avoid (although don't feel that you have to lay strong hands down to them). If not, it doesn't take long to scan the games at your limit to notice the players that are sat grinding away at a few tables. Don't make the mistake of assuming that multi-tabling players are great players. They're not necessarily any better than you. But it is very often the case that these players are better than the average player at their limit. They're probably playing a standard ABC poker at lower limits, so if you can find tables without them, or without more than one or two, it makes sense to do so.

When you're trying to pick between similar tables you should always consider the actual seat that's available. Look at where it is in relation to the other players. As a guideline you want position on the best players and the biggest stacks. Sit yourself to their left if you can. If a good player has position on you they can make what would otherwise be a profitable table into a very difficult one by consistently putting you under pressure because they have position on you. Money generally moves around the table in a clockwise direction so make sure those big stacks are chipping off in your direction.

The final thing to bear in mind is to be flexible about the tables you're playing at and seats you're sitting in. Don't feel that once you're in a seat you're bound to it. It's very easy for a game to change and 'go bad' for you. A big-stacked weak player could realise that their luck has run out and leave, only to be replaced by a multi-tabling nit. In fast-paced online games, especially six-max, the make-up of a table changes on a regular basis and you shouldn't hesitate to leave if you feel there are better and softer games available.

Poker-tracking software pre-arms you with a Big Brother-like number-crunching ally. It harvests every bet that your opponents make and feeds it into its databanks, rather than you having to keep an eye on four tables you're not even sat at to get an idea of how someone plays. Two recommendations are available to download at www.pokertracker.com and www.pokeroffice.com. As well as looking at individual player stats you can also view the table as a whole. The key stat is Voluntary Put in Pot (or VPIP). This tells you how loose or tight the game is. As a general rule the looser the better. For six-max games you should be looking for tables over 30 VPIP; for six-max something over 20% is good. Happy hunting!