Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I was reading Rizen's Poker Blog and he plays 5-8 tournements on 3 week days, same thing on saturday and around 12 on Sunday.

I understand that if you want to make money from MTT you can't play only once at a time and when you bust start a new one. you need to play a lot to win a lot.

However, if you play 3 tables at the same time I don't think you can get as good reads as if you played only 1 table at a time.

Is there a right balance or depends of your style or do you only play your cards?

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I think alot of this has to do with what you are doing.

Alot of people are watching TV, surfing the internet, etc.

I've made a conscious effort to do alot less surfing/tv watching, and its had a definite effect on my play.

/shrug.

Nick

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

It also has a lot to do with the level of MTT's you play. If you're playing high limits it's not too bad playing just one.

Personally, I find one tabling boring and without at least two my attention span goes in every direct but poker. So multi-tabling actually helps me play my best. After awhile of multi-tabling you'll know who your idiots are at each table. It wont take long. You just have to adjust your brain to thinking that way.

If you do better playing one table, then do it. It shouldn't be about the money (unless you play for a living). It should be about playing well. Work yourself up to multi-tabling. Start with just two.

Jeanie

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I usually play a big MTT, and a stars 20/180. I really cant play 3 tables at once. I aint good enough.

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I do play 2 or 3 (usually 3) at the same time, but I was wondering if I would get bettor results if I play only 1.

I am thinking that it would be a good way to imporve my reads. But like everyone I guess, I get bored.

If I satellite into the big Week-ends tournaments, I would play only one table, but my usual 20+2 are not as "important" to make me play only 1 table.

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I think it depends on the player, personally I can't handle more than 2 at a time, I just feel like I'm not putting forth my best effort playing >1. I play occasionally and it's not my main source of poker income/playing time(mostly play S&G's) so I don't mind having a bad hourly rate or playing for 3 hours without cashing.. I think if you primarily play MTT's though, you'll get used to more tables and it will of course increase your chances of winning one. With such a high variance, it makes sense to play >1 since if you bust, you still have 3 more that are in progress. Plus, although they run frequently, MTT's don't run all the time, so there will be a lot of overlap and missed games if playing one.

Ultimately, just player dependent, do what you feel comfortable with.

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

I play horribly when I multi-table, not so much in that I make bad calls (I find it easier to fold), but I am unable to get a sense of when the opposition is weak and simple aggression will take down a nice pot.

To overcome the boredom, I keep very detailed notes on what each player does on each hand:
l=limp
m=min-raise
R=Raise (3-5 BB)
C=Cold-call a raise
l/c=limps, calls a real raise
l/f=limps, folds to a raise
S=Steal
F=Fold to steal

This keeps my hands and mind busy so that I don't wander off and start surfing, and it really allows me to get a good read on players to figure out who will go to felt with TPNK, who will let me steal, etc.

But I'm also in Marwan's camp - I do this for fun, so while I like the goodies I've been able to buy with my winnings, my hourly rate is pretty unimportant.

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

Well I would just try it then. I single tabled (LMHE) for almost 8 months before I multi-tabled. Now I doubt I could go back. Boredom is a huge factor for me. I play better with more to do. Try it for a week. See how it goes. If you don't like it you can always change back.

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

[ QUOTE ]
I was reading Rizen's Poker Blog and he plays 5-8 tournements on 3 week days, same thing on saturday and around 12 on Sunday.

I understand that if you want to make money from MTT you can't play only once at a time and when you bust start a new one. you need to play a lot to win a lot.

However, if you play 3 tables at the same time I don't think you can get as good reads as if you played only 1 table at a time.

Is there a right balance or depends of your style or do you only play your cards?

[/ QUOTE ]

With my setup I can play/watch 4 tables at a time without losing anything IMO. None of the tables overlap at all and I use Poker Ace HUD with Poker Tracker to overlay stats. While I might lose a little bit from 3 tables when I'm heavily involved in a hand, I feel I can follow 4 tables pretty well. I know guys that can do a lot more than that and have great results.

It took me a long time to be able to pay attention to more than 1, but I think if you add tables slowly you can multi-table with very little impact on your overall performance.

-Rizen

Re: Playing multible tournaments at the same time
 

Go read ZeeJustin's log... the guy does like 12-18 tables at a time.

Personally I'm usually 4 tabling cash games and have no problem doing 2 or 3 tourneys at once. I'm also using PokerAce and PokerTracker too.