Doesn't multitabling put you at a huge disadvantage?

skierdude1000 · #1 07-23-2005, 11:38 PM

When I play my STTs, I pay super close attention to the players and make a lot of reads and get a lot of information from them. I've tried single tabling while reading news watching TV, listening to music, and going on AIM, and it kills like half of my game because I can't make as good plays based on players.

So my question to those of you who multitable, how are you able to play so effectively?

I doubt I'd be able to keep any ROI higher than .6 if I multitabled.

raptor517 · #2 07-23-2005, 11:39 PM

my roi decreases playing 12 tables, sure. but my hourly rate goes up quite a bit, so i do it. holla

ajohnson16 · #3 07-23-2005, 11:39 PM

Its a pro/con argument. While it might be a con for the reasons you've mentioned, multitabling can be a big pro because you'll be more selective on your hands and you'll play more premium hands than if you were single-tabling.

I don't have the concentration to multi-table big tournaments, so I usually play two 11s (one OTT and one HU)... It's gone pretty decent for me...

morgan180 · #4 07-23-2005, 11:42 PM

STTs for the most part are very formulaic - if you play by the formula you can play many of them very successfully at once. i play 3 at once so that i don't "get bored" and try to "create action" when there is none, plus i look at it like earnings/hour instead of winning or losing which keeps me off tilt.

runner4life7 · #5 07-24-2005, 12:08 AM

I 8 table, watch my roommate 2 table play the guitar watch tv and listen to music or whatever. I dont think it really changes my play. If i played fewer tables I would try and get "fancy" and me doign that is -EV.

skierdude1000 · #6 07-24-2005, 12:09 AM

but how are you able to read people and outplay them?

runner4life7 · #7 07-24-2005, 12:15 AM

i dont do too much of that, maybe thats -EV. I only really take note of anything that stands out to be really stupid other than that I dont play much different from player to player. I outplay them by poooooooooshing better.

morgan180 · #8 07-24-2005, 12:24 AM

most people at the levels i play (11s) don't need to be 'outplayed' they outplay themselves.

HonestIago15 · #9 07-24-2005, 12:35 AM

A very large percentage of play in STT is based almost entirely on math and very, very little on player reads. Playing fewer tables can make you play slightly better because you make fewer mistakes and can judge close calls based on player reads, but the point everyone is trying to is that since the ultimate goal here is to make money, your HOURLY RATE is what matters, not your ROI. Consider this example:

4-tabling:
ROI 35% at the 20+2's. Estimating that you can play approximately 5 tournaments an hour doing this,

(5 * 22) * .35 = $38.50 per hour

8-tabling:
ROI 25% at the 20+2 tables. Assuming that you can play 9 an hour doing this (probably conservative),

(22 * 9) * .25 = $49.50 an hour.

So you make an extra $10 hourly, even though your ROI is a whole 10 % less. Sounds like a good deal to me.

pokerlaw · #10 07-24-2005, 12:41 AM

I 4-table and in the beginning of the tourney I pay really close attention to betting patterns (since I am folding 90% of the time) and try to make quick notes on some of the players. nothing too fancy (loose, tight, overbets the pot, slowplays, etc), but I find I usually have some kind of a note on about 30%-50% of the players by level 2.

Even 4 tabling, its possible to get generalized reads on players styles. Its not perfect, but the increased $$/hr, as well as not wasting an hour playing 1 tournament only to have my QQ get sucked out on the bubble, makes it worthwhile overall.