Should I stop multi tabling?

[aargh57]

Hi all. Right now I'm away from home for an extended time period and don't have my PT or written records but the numbers are pretty close. I work 4 months on a ship and then have 4 months off and the last vacation I averaged about 20-25 hrs/week playing online. I was playing single table on Pacific before they supported PT and was doing quite well. Eventually building my BR up to the 3/6 level. At this time I estimated that I was win rate was about 2.5BB/100. (I'm not sure about the win rate but I did make about $1500 in about 6 weeks and I think it came out to about 2.5BB/100 asuming 40 hands/hour on Pacific.)
After learning about Bonuswhores.com I started the bonus game and multitabling at crypto,party,and respective skins. I also got PT at this time. Although I was making money my win rate went to about 0.6/100 after 18k hands. I actually had a negative win rate at the 1/2 tables (comprising about 6k hands). I played 1/2 mainly on crypto as the 2/4 games there were almost non-existant in the daytime (later I switched to the 1/2 brit pound games).

Anyway, I am concerned about trying to move up and be able to eventually multi table 3/6 and even 5/10 or single table the higher stakes. I realize I will have to beat these lower games first, though. However, money wise bonus whoring and quantity would point to continuing to multi-table. Right now I just keep hacking away at SSH and reading the forums (I plan to start playing Wilson's TTH a bunch too in the last month before I get home.) Anyway, thanks for your time and any suggestions would be appreciated.

[bholdr]

multitabling is all about experience, you've gotta spend money to make money: that experience isn't cheap, but it'll come. it took me a few months to go from profitably playing one table to profitably playing four or more.

stick with it, use the bonus money to pad your initial losses, it'll come.

and it caould just be bad variance- your sample size is a little small. [/cliche]

[pzhon]

I think you need to work on improving your play, and this is behind your poor results. It's up to you to decide whether you can learn efficiently while multitabling, but I would not blame your results on multitabling or your small sample size.

Pacific Poker has very soft games, both due to looseness and poor postflop play. The Cryptologic network has unusually tight $1-$2 games, and sometimes I see several players multitabling at $1-$2 tables. It may be that you are using a strategy that works well at Pacific's $3-$6, but loses at Cryptologic's $1-$2. You should be able to win before the bonuses if you improve your play.

[Alex/Mugaaz]

Anyone can play 2 tables and learn 98.5% as much as just 1. After 2 there is a definite trade off between profit/hr and skill gain/100.

No one is going to be able to give you a good answer on this, there isn't one. You either can multitable, can't multitable, can't and learn how because you think it's worth it, or can't and don't learn how because you think it's not worth it (in the long run).

Some misc info. Certain levels the money is made in different ways. At nano limits and SS you get it by playing the field 99% of the time, there is no trade off here between multitabling and ability to learn. Almost all lost profit here results in you not understanding a situation before hand. Your rise in skill level results mostly in you seeing what you did wrong and re-reading your books.

The level above this is where multitabling can be detrimental to your ability to get better. This is why people advise playing in 6max games because they result in many more situations where you deviate from basic strategy correctly. When you don't understand who you're playing and what they are trying to do here it is very, very costly.

Also, just because something is more profitable in the long run doesn't mean it's the better choice. Some people here understand they probably aren't going to beat the 30/60 or 2kNL games. They have bills to pay, they get the money consistently at their mid level, they are pleased. They add another table. Eventually they may get bored, and guess what, they can try moving up whenever they want with a much bigger bankroll then some of the posters here who show you the definition of the Peter Principle.

[aargh57]

Thanks for the input everybody. I was actually thinking of starting to play 6 max tables after I got home and was thinking of starting with just 2. I figure I'll probably be a little rusty and I know that 6 max will force me to make more decisions per table. When I left home I was just at the point in the bonuswhores101 guide where you start playing Stars and Absolute. Since Absolute only lets you play 3 tables max anyway, I think a good strategy would be to play 2 until I feel confident enough about moving up and then adding the 3rd after I feel comfortable. I'll probably still whore the monthly's and rebuys at Crypto and Party skins and may do so there at 4 tables just to clear them. I think it will take me a while to clear the larger bonuses at Absolute anyway so I'll try and move up more slowly there. I'm not relying on my poker income for anything so I think improving may yield better dividends than an extra $5-$10/hour do to multi-tabling. Again, thanks for the advice.