Table Selection - Party Poker

[Borodog]

We're told that table selection is critically important, and I agree. However, Party Poker and it's skin-sites don't seem to provide enough information to intelligently choose tables. Party provides number of players and average pot, but fails to provide information about % seeing the flop and hands/hour.

I feel like the method I use to choose a table is, quite frankly, half-assed. I sort the tables by pot size, and try to find an open seat at the tables with the largest average pots. I don't generally wait for a seat at the tables with the monster pots, which always seem to have 10 people in line. My thinking is that while I want large pots, indicating many players to the flop, monstrous pots are generally indicative of aggressive betting and raising, and I would generally like to have passive opponents.

However, this method often leaves me sitting at tables the rapidly degenerate into what I call the "19%-ers," where the average player is as tight as I am, most pots are contested short-handed, and the game just isn't very good any more.

How do you go about excercising good game selection on Party? For reference, I multi-table at $3-$6.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Mike Owen

[Klak]

just sit down, observe, and then leave if the game is no good. you should be able to tell within 2 orbits if the game is good.

[wuwei]

This topic is addressed on a bi-weekly basis in this forum. I know the search function sucks, but you can still find good info by using it.

Click on the search link above.

Type +table +selection into the search terms. "table selection" also works and gives similar results.

Look at the subjects and ignore the obviously off topic thread. Find the good threads and read them.

Rinse and repeat.

[QTip]

Mike Owen, this is Owen:

I always wonder why I never anything about PokerEdge in this Forum. I'm the only one that I've seen talk about it. This is a tool that someone has made where they are datamining all day. They put this info on a server and you can tap into the database. I'm starting to get a fair amount of players in PT, and I've been able to verify that the data is right on. Go to poker-edge.com to check it out. It's $9.99 for the SS version. I'm still using for table selection. I find it very valuable. Helps me not only find a table, but also find where to sit. I have about 500 players in my database, they have close to 400,000 right now. Until I get a great database at a level I'm going to stay at for awhile, I'm going to continue to pay $9.99/month.

[Borodog]

I appreciate your response. I actually already did what you suggest. I found good information about what stats comprise a good game, but no insight on choosing a game that is likely to be good without wasting several orbits time. Time spent in poor games decreases the efficiency of my playing time, which is finite. I often find myself suddenly realizing that 4 of my tables have dropped to 19% VP$IP. And dumping out of these tables and trying to find replacement seats wastes playing time.

[wuwei]

The combination of pokertracker/datamining/exporting notes to party's notes.txt file works well for me. Look at tables, check the notes you have on players sitting, decide if it's worth taking a seat.

I elaborated a bit more on this in a post a few months ago.

[Borodog]

Thanks, I'll search for that post.

Mike

[Bluffoon]

Finding a good table seems to me a little like playing a rush. You know you just had one but you don't know whether it will continue. I have spent a lot of time following around buddies and trying to get on tables with high vpip and pot size and I have come to the conclusion that it is all a BIG waste of time and energy. Sit at whatever table comes up and look for player errors. No bad players, try again. I can't tell you how many tables I end up on that are the tables that all the TAG's are fighting to get on. And as soon as a few sit down I generally leave.

[QTip]

Wuwei...I've just search a couple of hundred of your posts going back into November, and I can't find this post. I really want to get started dataming, but I'm still not sure exactly how it gets done. Someone once told me that the files are kept as a different file format somewhere. Any more help?

[QTip]

I think I just got it figured out from a post from Davelin. Thanks.

[brettbrettr]

Link?

[QTip]

Well..there's not much to the link, so I'll take the time to explain here. Basically I learned how to datamine without playing or sitting at the table. You can simply open 4 tables and let the games run. For example, right now I'm playing a couple of tables at Multipoker, but I have 4 tables from Eurobet open and running. When these tables are open, the hand histories are being stored in a folder..but not your normal HandHistory folder. For example, Multipoker HandHistory is found here on my computer:

C:\Program Files\MultiPoker\UserName\HandHistory

However, these other hand history files are kept simply in the main software folder

C:\Program Files\MultiPoker

These files are stored as .hhf files and not .txt files.

So, when you download these files into PT, you'll need to change the "Files of Type" to "All Files" instead of "Text Files".

That's all there is to it.

Let me know if you have problems.