Multitabling....necessary?

FWIW, I don't play many hands (maybe 15-20K since March of full and SH tables) so I don't multi-table more than 2 tables at a time. I like a table of SH and a full ring running, one is slower more methodical while I can focus on the SH table more.
Sometimes I only have an hour or so to play, and I don't want to drop 75BB with too many tables open and not be able to put the time in to get it back.

[gonzopro]

If your goal is to move up and becoming a better poker player (vs making money) then you should only play one table(probably 2 at most). This allows you to develop better reads and play better in marginal situations. These skills become increasingly important as you move up as opponents make fewer mistakes. Don't alter your play/goals just to "fit in" here. Any change you make should be based on a new understanding of the game.

[Benman]

I've very slowly worked myself up to being comfortable with 2-tabling only. I wouldn't have any problem single tabling if that's all I felt comfortable with.

Consider guys like Chip Reese. How much money has he made in his life single tabling? If you're adequately bankrolled, and a winner, then what's the hurry? You'll end up where you need to be soon enough.

[deception5]

There is definitely a tradeoff.

Advantages of multi-tabling:
- See more hands. The more you see the more decisions that become second nature. There's a huge difference between playing 5k hands of shorthanded and 10-20k hands. You'll also be exposed to more new situations by the sheer volume of hands you are playing.
- Make more money. Assuming you're more than a marginal winner it can be more profitable to play more tables.
- Less boredom. There's only so much you can do when you get 86, 34, Q2, etc for your first 20 hands at the table. Boredom can lead to mistakes when you finally get a decent hand.

Advantages of single-tabling:
- Better reads. No question. You can take more advantage of your opponents. Better notes, more opportunities to work on reads.
- More focused play. You can really think through every angle when difficult decisions come around.
- Less chance of getting overwhelmed/timing out. Especially when switching from full to shorthanded, you will face a ton of situations you have rarely been in before where you will need time to think (especially if you play full ring somewhere where most pots are 3+ to the flop).

Personally, I started off single-tabling for a long time but now 2 is the absolute lowest I will go and 3-4 is preferred. I only play 1 table when I'm at a new limit or about to log out.

[POKhER]

To the 4 tablers of 6max:

Do you're reads suck? I mean, after 15 minutes play i expect to have atleast 3-4notes made(1each for 4guys or 4on one guy). It takes time to write these shorthanded and check the logs for muckedhands or what happened preflop if i forget.

Can you seriously do this? I can already see windows flashing and annoying beeps going off then the horrid "IM BACK" button appearing having posted your blinds [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

Just wondered... I figure you're notes must suck expect for the very experienced players.

[deception5]

[ QUOTE ]
To the 4 tablers of 6max:

Do you're reads suck? I mean, after 15 minutes play i expect to have atleast 3-4notes made(1each for 4guys or 4on one guy). It takes time to write these shorthanded and check the logs for muckedhands or what happened preflop if i forget.

Can you seriously do this? I can already see windows flashing and annoying beeps going off then the horrid "IM BACK" button appearing having posted your blinds [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

Just wondered... I figure you're notes must suck expect for the very experienced players.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't play at any site where I have to manually check mucked cards. PokerAce handles this for Party and Stars just fine.

My notes are not extensive, but honestly there are so many routine decisions to make that it's not really a challenge to focus on the 1 or rarely 2 difficult ones at a time and I do spend a lot of time watching the other players. Usually the aggressive players are involved in a lot of hands so you get plenty of chances to see how they play (and the passive ones you can rely more on stats). I'll often be thinking about a tough decision while I'm clicking on the 3 other tables and then come back to the tough decision.

FWIW I used to have a really hard time with more than 2, but I can handle 4 high speed stars tables without any issues unless I get involved in chat of course...

Hi Ineedaride-

When I start out at a new limit, I always start with one table and force myself to stick to one table for at least 20 hours of play. The last time I broke this rule, I dumped 150 BB at 5/10 by 3-tabling on a friend's computer without a HUD.

Stay with one table until you're really comfortable with it. After each session, do a quick review in pokertracker's replay program and pull up a notepad file, jotting down every time you feel you made a mistake. Once you've been doing this a while, your mistakes should decline. When you feel you're making only a few mistakes, add a second table. Repeat process.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me here, but by the time you're thinking of adding a third table, you should probably be thinking of stepping up to a new limit, if your bankroll can afford it.

[POKhER]

Yeah i dont mean checking mucked hands really, more so if you forget a flop action or miss it whilst chatting on AIM(like i admitedly used to but now stopped) or just because you got AA on another table.

I assume you leave tables when shorthanded then as HU/3way play is alot tougher?

I've only logged few thousands at 6max so its all kind of new to me.

Have played at prima i found 2tabling there a nightmare due to so many tricky lags i come across. However on Party i find it easier as your against so many crap players the drop is winrate by 2-4tabling seems to be made up for by the poor play of you're opponents.

I'm trying to not get bored with one table as i feel i need to speed up my note taking ability and general 6max play.

However bordem is starting to set in after about 3000 hands.

[ QUOTE ]
To the 4 tablers of 6max:

Do you're reads suck? I mean, after 15 minutes play i expect to have atleast 3-4notes made(1each for 4guys or 4on one guy). It takes time to write these shorthanded and check the logs for muckedhands or what happened preflop if i forget.

Can you seriously do this? I can already see windows flashing and annoying beeps going off then the horrid "IM BACK" button appearing having posted your blinds [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

Just wondered... I figure you're notes must suck expect for the very experienced players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Pokher-

Have you tried turning off the sounds? I find the beeping on the tables puts me more on tilt than losing hands or anything else, so I went into windows and disabled all my alert sounds. That way I can still have winamp running without being tilted by my 15 second alert at party.

I've only missed one key hand like this; I had aces after a particularly brutal run of 5/10, I was shortstacked with 2.1 bb in front of me, and I was tilting, I , ahem, threw a bottle on my desk across the room and it smashed into the side of the wall as my opponent raised me on the turn, I put in my last big bet (so I thought) got out of my chair to pick up the bottle and clean up the mess, and came back to my computer to realize, the horror: I still had .1 BB left. I reached for the mouse just as the timer hit 0. Goodbye aces! Goodbye 5BB pot!

Yeah. But other than that, I like turning off alerts :-)

[wowacedude]

[ QUOTE ]

- Less boredom. There's only so much you can do when you get 86, 34, Q2, etc for your first 20 hands at the table. Boredom can lead to mistakes when you finally get a decent hand.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is a big problem of mine, i 2-table 90% of the time, because i want to play 5/10 or 10/20 instead of 3/6 or whatever, because i can beat those limits with a decent winrate when i'm trying. The thing is, so often i'm bored to death playing, i don't have that great reads, i misclick etc. Instead i chat, read about sports, 2+2 etc when i'm playing.