Small Stakes Variance Question

I am a newbie and have a question. I have recently begun playing .50/1 on PP, full ring, two tables at a time. Per seating I am showing what I consider a decent profit approximately 5 BB per hour. However I have noticed that I am losing approximately 5 BB on one table while winning 10BB on the other. Is this a sign of problem with my play or normal variance for small stakes holdem?

[flopmonster]

Happens quite a bit to me...just variance

[slavic]

I would say that if you are showing a 5BB per hour profit you are running exceptionally well on two tables. Of course that number should also be very close ot your BB/100 rating. I'm going to guess however that your sample size is to small to really make a fair assesment of.

I have played around 10K hands this month (yes I'm slacking bad, but the party fiasco put me in a bad mood) and my BB/100 still swings fairly wide from session to session.

As to your original question, multitabling it is fairly common to be up on one table and down on another, but all combinations of ups and downs can occure in the short run.

[callmedonnie]

first off, 5 bb per 100 (assuming that takes roughly an hour) is definitely running hot. As for variance, you are actually minimizing variance by playing more tables. if you only had one open you would be down a bunch sometimes, or up a bunch others. by playing several tables, assuming you are playing well, you are playing more hands. the more hands, the more likely your overall expectation will average out, but don't expect to make 2bb/100 on each table.

[RiverDood]

Sounds normal. I've been seeing the same thing on Stars, playing .25/.50. I'd contend that split results start out as random chance but may perpetuate for the following reasons . . .

1. Once you're noticeably ahead at a table, some people get intimidated and are likely to back off when you raise. They give you the pot. This is very useful for semi-steals from the CO, Button, SB and even BB at times. . . . It also helps in taking command of scary flops that most likely no one hit, such as 3 spades or QQ6, regardless of your cards. Such plays do not work so well when you haven't been taking down pots.

2. If you're running hot, people who are looking for a soft table may leave. The folks who just want to watch their stacks head to zero will obligingly stay. The competition gets easier.

3. You may be playing more defensively on the table that's down, wanting to avoid deeper losses. If you're value betting less and reraising less, you may be missing +EV situations.

If you think any of these factors are at play, you may want to close out the losing table and try reopening a different one. Just don't switch to a $2/$4 table because you know you're a winning poker player and can make it all back at higher stakes with two good hands.