The Multi-table Grind

Recently, I've been starting to play more and more tables of $5/$10 short on PP. The more tables I play, the more I realize that my money goes nowhere! I win a big pot at one table and I lose two small pots at another table. I make a few hundred, but then I get cleaned out at another table. Does anyone else experience this? Is this just part of the grind? It seems like the more tables I play, the slower I go up. Perhaps there's a hole in my game somewhere..

[BigEndian]

Short term luck, long term certainty.

That is, if you're playing well.

- Jim

f(x)= C(1/x)
f(x)= the amount of cash you win/lose ($)
x = the amount of tabels
C = konstant, depends on how fast your brains works [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] etc.

^ f($)
|.............
|\................
|..\...............
|....\.............
|.....\............
|......\...........
--------------> x (tabels)

I hope this solved your problems [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Lol, wow that actually helps a lot.

[alul]

[ QUOTE ]
f(x)= C(1/x)
f(x)= the amount of cash you win/lose ($)
x = the amount of tabels
C = konstant, depends on how fast your brains works [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] etc.

^ f($)
|.............
|\................
|..\...............
|....\.............
|.....\............
|......\...........
--------------> x (tabels)

I hope this solved your problems [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with this function? It shows that if I'm very stupid and my constant C equals for instance -1 (or actually any negative number), I'll lose all my money without even playing.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
f(x)= C(1/x)
f(x)= the amount of cash you win/lose ($)
x = the amount of tabels
C = konstant, depends on how fast your brains works [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] etc.

^ f($)
|.............
|\................
|..\...............
|....\.............
|.....\............
|......\...........
--------------> x (tabels)

I hope this solved your problems [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Just out of curiosity, how did you come up with this function? It shows that if I'm very stupid and my constant C equals for instance -1 (or actually any negative number), I'll lose all my money without even playing.

[/ QUOTE ]

hehe, I forgot that 0 < C . I have study this problems as a Mechanical Engineer at Linköpings unversity. How stupid you are actually affects your profit. For exampel: If you are very slow minded your tabel will time out, and thats not profitble. The more tabels you have the more tabels will time out, and you are losing money, as my function shows [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
I hope we can discuss this problem further!

[pokernicus]

ROTFL! Nice one. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I think, though, that when x is sufficiently small, the function actually grows with x. I agree that as x tends to infinity, the function tends to negative infinity...

[ QUOTE ]
f(x)= C(1/x)
f(x)= the amount of cash you win/lose ($)
x = the amount of tabels
C = konstant, depends on how fast your brains works [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] etc.

^ f($)
|.............
|\................
|..\...............
|....\.............
|.....\............
|......\...........
--------------> x (tabels)

I hope this solved your problems [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure that winrate is inversely related to number of tables played. For one thing, the constant C is determined by only one thing, not lots of factors....That is; what is your winrate at one table?

This is because f(1)= C.

Moreover, it must be the case that at some point you will begin losing money by trying to play too many tables....say 50. But the model 1/x approaches 0 as x -> infinity. So this says that if I play 10,000 tables I am essentially breaking even, which is clearly not true.

Also, winrate = 1/x => that by playing 2 tables you half your winrate, and by playing 4 you half that, etc. Which does not happen.

I wasn't sure if this was meant as more of an analogue or a specific model. In the case of the former it's apt enough, for the latter it doesn't work.

I believe a more accurate model is (C+k) - k*x, where C is your winrate at one table, and k is determined by how fast your brain works , etc. (x>= 1 is again # of tables)

Even this is too simplistic though as the loss is definitely not linear, in fact there is virtually no drop off from 1 to 2 tables. A better model (I'm too lazy to make this perfect) would be something that looked like:

2 * exp( -.025 * (x-1)^2 ) - (x-1) / 20

Where exp(*)=e^* and again x>=1. Plot this in matlab or maple and I think you'll see it's a more accurate picture of what happens.

[crazygoose]

I think multitabling kindof just controls variation in the short run (like one session of say 1k hands), more than four tabling or two tabling. I was four tabling 2/4 and was solidly beating it for 6k hands (doing ok for 15k before that but then got some mentorring and thought I had turned my game around). Then I tried six which quickly became eight tabling. As soon as I started doing more than four I've been on a 150BB down swing which to me seems a little harsh considering it's 2/4 and I think I am at least a 2BB/100 winning player. I don't know if they're related but it seems likely. Anyways...I don't know how much this contributed.

[SeaEagle]

Keep in mind that the expected win vs. the amount of money you put in play is really miniscule. For instance, if you are a 2BB/100 player and, during a 500 hand session, you win a single big hand that profits you 10BB, your expectation for the other 499 hands is to break even.

A corollary to that statement is that short-term luck plays a huge factor in your win rate. The difference between winning 2BB/100 and breaking even in a 500 hand session is one hand where your AA held up in a 4-way pot vs it getting cracked by a moron making his set of 7s on the river.

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps there's a hole in my game somewhere.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you suggesting your game could be holeless? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]