.5/1 table selection, do you or don't you

[NateDog]

Ever datamine, or run GT+ for a couple of orbits before sitting?

Having recently moved up from nano's, I have never had to look at anything before sitting. Tonite I sat at what seemed an average table, only to find after 30 hands (and 10 BB), there were a couple of decent to good players already there.

Is this worth it, or is the 45BB mini-slide I took affecting my thinking? Thank goodness I was at the tail end of a reload bonus, to keep me sane.

Questions, comments, replies, and player to player transfers are all welcome /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Nate

[tytygoodnuts]

I just do a table search at Party and find some wild tables. I think the time spent playing that first 30 minutes is higher EV per hour than waiting to see what each player is like.

[reubenf]

Maybe this is way off, but I sort the tables by pot size ascending then by # of players descending. I choose the 9 player tables with the smallest average pot size. I believe this gets me tables without aggressive players (though sometimes tighter than I like).

[DavidC]

Play at the same times during the week. You'll know who the good players are.

(I don't do this, but I imagine that if I did, I'd get a real good feel for the game during those specific times.)

hehehe... looking at my post, I think I've got a better username than boring old DavidC: CaptainParenthesis! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

The other thing is that a couple of good players at the table are easy enough to avoid. Just make sure that you don't go crazy when you just sit at a table.

--Dave.

[DavidC]

Interesting idea...

[olavfo]

I always observe at least two orbits before sitting down and I use my PT player database when I can. 1-2 good opponents don't matter much, since you'll rarely compete with them (a VP$IP 20 player will participate in only 20% of the hands you play) but I prefer to have at least two calling stations.

I believe this is time well spent.

olavfo

[mmbt0ne]

At .50/1 I sit at the first 4 tables I can with the highest pot averages. There will always be enough donks at any .50/1 table to make it profitable. I'm never on a .50/1 waiting list.

[reubenf]

[ QUOTE ]
At .50/1 I sit at the first 4 tables I can with the highest pot averages. There will always be enough donks at any .50/1 table to make it profitable. I'm never on a .50/1 waiting list.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why highest? Don't you prefer loose passives to loose aggressives?

[TALLBrad]

This applies to Ultimate Bet which is what I play at the moment.

I have my buddie list populated with fish that I know. If those tables are full, then I set up PT and GT+ to datamine for about 1/2 hour as most tables at UB are full, but less than 10 minute wait to enter.

I then pick the one that has the best VPIP and the fewest sharks...

It seems to be working, as I've managed to go many strings of winning sessions with a very few losing sessions and no back-back losing sessions (and yes I know about varience [and also want to get parenthesis into my posts too]}.

As you move up in limits table selection becomes very important and I think of it as building the skill that will be required later on.

[mmbt0ne]

Because the highest ones list first on my lobby, and I'm usually only there to clear bonuses when I would rather use the 15 minutes I would datamine 1/2 or 2/4 to play. Also, I'm extremely confident in my ability to beat 99.5% of .50/1 tables on Party.

[DavidC]

My favourite opponents are LPA.

My second favourite are LAA. I beat them, but there is a ton of variance, and if I lose to them followed by someone else winning against them, there's not much I can do about it.

--Dave.

[Stuey]

1. Are you playing .50/1 to clear a bonus and only want to break even or win 2bb/100 ?

2. Are you playing .50/1 to learn everything possible about poker cheaply with little risk, to quickly build your bankroll, while fixing leaks in your game, and plan on move up to larger limits as soon as you are confident?

3. Do you want a reason to take the easy way out?

Seriously I just pick the first table with 9 players. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif But somedays I put in the work incase I reach the 2/4 or 5/10 tables in the distant future.

[adsman]

Seriously, if you have pokertracker and you're playing on party, then you'd be a fool not to datamine before sitting down. Why wouldn't you? This is what I do. I open up PT, open four or five tables on party that are ten-handed, then I go away for half an hour. (usually I'm on 2+2 for this period). When I look at it again, there are around 30-40 hands that have been played and its easy to see which are the juciest tables. I stick my name on the waiting lists, back to 2+2 until I hear the magical, ding ding noise, and then I'm on.

This has saved and made me a bundle. And all it costs is a little bit of your time.

[Reef]

when I used to play at 50 cent tables:

[ QUOTE ]
I sit at the first 4 tables I can with the highest pot averages.

[/ QUOTE ]

[reubenf]

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously, if you have pokertracker and you're playing on party, then you'd be a fool not to datamine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I datamine, too, but I play while doing it /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[olavfo]

I thought you had to be seated to collect data, but I'm obviously mistaken. How do you set up PT to do that?

olavfo

[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
I thought you had to be seated to collect data, but I'm obviously mistaken. How do you set up PT to do that?

olavfo

[/ QUOTE ]

Set up the auto handimport under file. Pokertracker automatically collects the handhistories from your computer. So if you have a table open, even if you're not sitting down, it will collect data on all the players at the table.

[olavfo]

This was handy. But you have to look at each player from within PT? Because you can't use GT+ until you sit down, or can you? At least I couldn't.

olavo

[adsman]

In GT go to preferences. Select "my screen name is". select one of the players at the table you are watching. That's all there is to it.

[olavfo]

Thanks! This will make table selection pretty darn easy.

olavfo