Table selection
 

When looking for the juiciest game in the lobby of a poker site what stats should I pay the most attention to? I've noticed that I'm able to win a lot more smaller pots in the games with the samllest avg. pot but is there anything that I could be looking for that would help me make more money other than sitting and watching a game for 30 minutes before deciding whether or not to join?

Re: Table selection
 

Ideally, you want large pots with lots of players in each hand. However, the turnover of players at online sites is such that the makeup of the table may have changed completely by the time you are seated.

Also, remember that you're out to win money, not pots. I'd prefer to win one large pot than many small ones.

Regards,

T

Re: Table selection
 

When I know I want to dedicated myself to a long session, I open up at least 5-10 tables for at least 10 observed hands. I'm looking for the quintessential LPP table: highest VPIP, lowest PFR, lowest TA. If there are two similar I use the higher pot size as a tie breaker. Also, if there are more than 1-2 people in line in front of me I choose another table - chances are that there are sharks waiting in front of me. Once I start playing I keep at least 2-3 other tables open in case the one I'm at gets too short-handed or too taggy.

Re: Table selection
 

Depending on how new you are to poker and/or what limits you're playing at, you might consider just jumping into an available game to get experience against a wide range of players. From there, you might choose by whether you want to get short handed or full table experience. Other random thoughts on the matter - tables that show the highest percentage of players to the flop tend to meet the LPP definition better and the tables with the largest pots should help you maximize your win rate at that table. If you're just looking at the stats that the site provides, I have no idea what the number of hands that is averaging out - that could be from a 10 hand sample and not be representative at the general play at that table. At micro-limits, I've found that the players turnover quite a bit.

Re: Table selection
 

I find tables with a high % of players seeing the flop and larger ave. pot size. Then I might look at the table for a hand or two. The tables that have a lot of limpers and hardly any raising is perfect. Watching a table that has many callers chasing to the river with crap, and cold calling preflop raises with almost anything.