Folding Pete
11-16-2004, 03:33 AM
Mulit-tabling is great and as a low limit (mostly $2/4) grinder I love it but at what point does adding an extra table actually decrease your hourly profits. I've recently got my second monitor and have been playing up to 8 games simultaneously. There must be a point when the added stress of another table reduces rather than increases your earn.
I can think of at least 4 major factors to take into account.
In order of importance:
1. Table management
I play low limit so I like to be on the loosest tables with the biggest pots that I can find. That's how I make my profits, players who make more and bigger errors than me. This means continually scanning the lobbies getting on waiting lists then re-evaluating tables when you are called to them. Also, of course, you have to monitor the tables one is at in case they are starting to go -EV. When you do want to switch tables it will take longer to find another good table because of your other table obligations.
Playing many tables means you have significantly less time for this type of table housekeeping.
2. Quality of Play
Obviously the more tables you have, the less time you have to make decisions and quality of play will decrease. For example because you have folded 10 hands straight you don't notice that a certain player is raising every hand and you fold again with A10 facing a raise from him.
If you flop a big hand in a raised flop you hardly have time to scroll back in the dealer chat to find out who & where the preflop raiser was before deciding to bet out or checkraise.
You have little time to make or read player notes and it takes a lot longer to get a handle on any one particular player.
Hitting raise instead of fold with 72off because of AA on a different table...
3. Hands per hour
Though you may add an extra table your hands per hour won't increase in a linear fashion. Now with many tables open you slow down play on all your tables as you try to cope with all the playing/table management decisions you have to make. Slower table changes also mean less hands per table per hour. I have noticed that now it does take a significantly longer time to hit 1000 hands on four Party tables now that I have 1 to 4 extra tables to nurse.
You also lose $ in the instances when you time out, whilst deeply involved with a hand at another table.
4. Rake Back
Now you may have rake back\bonuses working in your favour for each extra table. But again your overall hands per table per hour does decrease due to slowing down of play and slower table changes. Bonuses will tap out pretty quickly multi-tabling so that leaves a very small rake back in your favour.
As I said I'm trying 8 tables but that leaves no room display for a lobby, of about 3 or 4 lobbies. This seriously impacts table selection & management. So I'm thinking that for low limit, the way I play, the point of diminishing returns is in the area of 5 to 7 tables.
Any thoughts? At what level and limits is the point of your diminishing return.
Always be folding
I can think of at least 4 major factors to take into account.
In order of importance:
1. Table management
I play low limit so I like to be on the loosest tables with the biggest pots that I can find. That's how I make my profits, players who make more and bigger errors than me. This means continually scanning the lobbies getting on waiting lists then re-evaluating tables when you are called to them. Also, of course, you have to monitor the tables one is at in case they are starting to go -EV. When you do want to switch tables it will take longer to find another good table because of your other table obligations.
Playing many tables means you have significantly less time for this type of table housekeeping.
2. Quality of Play
Obviously the more tables you have, the less time you have to make decisions and quality of play will decrease. For example because you have folded 10 hands straight you don't notice that a certain player is raising every hand and you fold again with A10 facing a raise from him.
If you flop a big hand in a raised flop you hardly have time to scroll back in the dealer chat to find out who & where the preflop raiser was before deciding to bet out or checkraise.
You have little time to make or read player notes and it takes a lot longer to get a handle on any one particular player.
Hitting raise instead of fold with 72off because of AA on a different table...
3. Hands per hour
Though you may add an extra table your hands per hour won't increase in a linear fashion. Now with many tables open you slow down play on all your tables as you try to cope with all the playing/table management decisions you have to make. Slower table changes also mean less hands per table per hour. I have noticed that now it does take a significantly longer time to hit 1000 hands on four Party tables now that I have 1 to 4 extra tables to nurse.
You also lose $ in the instances when you time out, whilst deeply involved with a hand at another table.
4. Rake Back
Now you may have rake back\bonuses working in your favour for each extra table. But again your overall hands per table per hour does decrease due to slowing down of play and slower table changes. Bonuses will tap out pretty quickly multi-tabling so that leaves a very small rake back in your favour.
As I said I'm trying 8 tables but that leaves no room display for a lobby, of about 3 or 4 lobbies. This seriously impacts table selection & management. So I'm thinking that for low limit, the way I play, the point of diminishing returns is in the area of 5 to 7 tables.
Any thoughts? At what level and limits is the point of your diminishing return.
Always be folding