Multi-tabling and Concentration

[scotty34]

I am in the process of making the move from 1/2 to 2/4 on Party right now. Playing 1/2, I would 4-table without any difficulties, and was doing fine for myself. My screen resolution is 1280x1024, so I do have a decent amount of overlap for my 4 tables.

I started out with 2 2/4 tables, and that was going fine. I find I really like the 2/4 game. After about 1K hands of playing 2 tables, I added a third. I played with 3 for another 1K hands, and again was chugging along nicely. So I added the 4th table. Not 10 mins after I added it, everything started to go downhill FAST. I lost all my winnings over the next 1K hands, and felt very discouraged.

I had a very similar problem last time I took a shot at 2/4, with a large discrepancy between 3 and 4 tables. I lost a lot of money last time and was forced to step back down to 1/2. This time, I decided I was just going to go back down to 2 tables and keep at it. Things immediately picked up. I added the third table again, and things are going great (in fact amazing, as after dipping into the red numbers after 2.5K hands, I am now at 7.09 BB/100 after 4K). I've been getting great hands, and been sitting at great tables.

What I'm trying to figure out is that if running that 4th table just makes things way too hectic, and I lose all my concentration. I know my sample size is very small, but it just seemed like night and day between 3 and 4 tables. Has anyone else had similar experiences? Is this just variance, and I can probably go back up to 4 tables?

[bonaparte]

While I am still new to poker (just started .50/1) I can stay that I experience much the same effect. Only for me it is going from 2 to 3 tables. I think the hardest problem for me is my screen resolution (you made mention of this). I have difficulty keeping track of who did what because another screen keeps poping up in front of me. Especially when I am actively playing my hole cards on all three tables at onced.

Maybe you could try Golden Tiger for a little while. They have a way to have a mini table so you can see 4 tables at once even under poor screen resolution (mine is 1024x768). This helped my 3 tableing last night (first night I tried it). And besides they have a 50% up to $200 bonus for new accounts at 5x raked so even if you don't like the site for 4 tableing at least you will walk away wtih a couple hundred.

I hope this helps.

PS. I am buying a new laptop with adequate screen resolution to 4 table with my bonus money.

[grjr]

I bought a 21" CRT monitor for $300 which would run 1600X1200. It lets you put all 4 tables on the screen at the same time. I would hate to be without it now.

As for the rest of your question I'll leave that to the experts.

[Simplistic]

i'm back to 1-tabling after 3-tabling and losing all my profits in 3 hours. it's funny, i'll grind it out for a week+ and to lose my money that fast. sucked, so back to 1-tabling

[GrunchCan]

It's possible your limit right now is 3 tables. There's nothing to be ashamed of in that. My limit is 3 tables too. On the other hand it's also possible that you just got unlucky. There's nothing to be ashamed of in that, either. I get unlucky too. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[sin808]

3 tables is my max right now. I'll do 4 during a bonus, but my play suffers. I have a similar overlap problem, I think it may partly be due to that. I have attention to spare with 3 tables (enough for one more table). Without being able to see the entire action at a table it causes to me to shift focus more often than if it's all in view. New monitor comes on friday, so we'll see if it helps.

[dozer]

I 3 table .50 1. and gonna try 4 soon, buy a used 21' crt monitor, they are cheap.. got mine for $130 cdn.

[ChoicestHops]

Maybe Im lucky? My monitor is a 21" ViewSonic that can show 1920x1440.

[Ajax410]

I 8-table, and I got here by practicing and focusing with the addition of each new table. Also, having no overlap is HUGELY helpful if you want to keep track of the action at each table you play.

Alex

[SlyGuy]

Just take er easy at 3 tables until you can do it without a problem. No need to rush into it.

I have 2 monitors one at 1280x800 (laptop) and a 19" CRT at 1280x1024 so i play 2 tables on each monitor wihs just the corners overlapping. pretty much all gameplay is visible. If your video card can take 2 monitors adding a second one will help. 1600x1200 can be a strain on the eyes, text is a lot smaller. I prefer 1280x1024 personally.

[Malachii]

Yeah, I bought a 17 inch Samsung at Best Buy which handles 1920x1440. It was really cheap, like 225$. 4 tables on one screen, no overlap. I think the problem with running 4 tables at a time is that it's very difficult to classify your opponents and know who the suckers and sharks are.