I can play 2 tables but am much better when only playing 1 table at a time. I get better reads and make better decissions.

IceMan how do you or anyone else that multi-tables maintian your level of play? Do you just tighten up and only play top 10 hands? A lot of my big wins come from getting good reads on bluffers and fish. When I play 3 tables I don't seem to get these reads as players come and go so much.

Thanks for the advise.

I use to play 2 tables and could still hold my reads and such fairly well. When I switched to 3 tables..my preflop call percentage went down 10%!!

I play much, much tighter with 3 tables since I can't follow all the action well enough .The less mediocre situations I get myself in, the better.

I agree with Kenny. Everyone has a different level that they can play at with multiple tables, and it is also a skill that you can get better at. But everyone is going to have some drop off of skills when they play multiple tables.

The best way to offset this is to play at tables where good solid pre-flop hand decisions will get you far. You won't be able to make as good of reads as you normally would, so you want to select tables that you can beat with a more straight forward game. You can still make *plays*, but you will probably need to do it less often. For some players this can actually improve their game if they suffer from fancy play syndrome under normal conditions!

I'm in the same boat as you, Kowboy. I do well on just about any single table, but as soon as I move to 2 or 3 tables it all falls apart. The few times I have had success on multiple tables it was usually by playing very tight (usually one of the tables is a MTT or SnG and the tightness just carries over to the other table)

I've drawn a couple of conclusions from this:
1) In order to play multiple tables I have to be able to let go of any but the absolute best hands and situations. Also, because of the speed, quick decisions are a must.

2) My normal playing style is a little looser than some good players. I make up for it by typically playing more passive tables to get in the pot cheap, paying close attention and developing very good reads. I also take a little longer to make analyze and make decisions

3) Therefore my normal playing style is contrary to style that is needed to be successful at multi-tabling.

I can adjust my style to play multiple tables, but I have a normal style because that's the most successful style for me. More success = more money = more fun which is the whole reason I play poker to begin with.

I'm sure that I could be making at least a little more money at the limits I play by multi-tabling, but it would take some work and, in my experience so far, not be as enjoyable.

The good news is, I don't think multi-tabling is a pre-req for being a great poker player. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if your goal is to steadily move up in limit or difficulty then there will come a certain point where multi-tabling will hinder you more than help.

McMonkey
(Chris)

I play 3 tables, but I have a 20" monitor and can watch all 3 tables with no overlap and see all action at all times. I pay special attention to raised pots and make note of what they raised with and what the caller called with. I note any fishy plays and other things of interest, like betting a flush draw or betting bottom pair.

I do play very tight (about 15-17 voluntarily entering the pot). When you play that tight, you will rarely be in hands on all 3 tables at the same time. If Im in a big hand at one table, I will fold KJs in a heartbeat at another table , when I might normally play it in that situation. I do alot of raising but rarely call raises, so that eliminates alot of marginal situations right there.

I cant play one table anymore. Its juts too boring and will start playing too many pots. When I hit a bad streak, I sometimes cut back to 2 tables, but only for a short while until I get it turned around.

I have no problem getting good reads playing 3 tables because alot of guys make such bad plays like calling every street with A6 on an ace high flop, or chasing a flush with horrible odds with their J6s.

It takes some getting used to. I played 2 tables for a long time before going to 3. Im not sure if I'll every play 4 or not.

To me, multitabling is no fun. I feel like the play becomes way too mechanical and you are playing straight out of the book. While I know this to be profitable, I get tired of it and want to really get into the game, which is hard to do when you are neither playing close attention nor are playing lots of pots against your opponents. I've realized that playing short-handed and even heads-up games allowes you to play a lot of hands and rewards solid postflop play that much more. If anyone is getting bored doing one ring game, then I think this is a good alternative if you can't handle multitabling.

I agree with MG, and I think playing shorthanded is my equivalent to multi-tabling. I love to play shorthanded and it is a great change of pace if you've been playing full tables for a while. The added benefit is that it also helps keep your middle to late SnG play sharp.

I also find good shorthanded games to be much more profitable than full table games and that's why I find myself playing them more and more. I believe the major factor for their profitability is that average players don't know how to adjust as quickly. Sometimes I like to find a table that recently dropped from full or close to full down to 6 or less for that exact reason. The down side to that is the tables collapse much more often than a standard 6 max table.

"I play 3 tables, but I have a 20" monitor and can watch all 3 tables with no overlap and see all action at all times."

I really think this is key. You can process everything but it has to be visible. If you have the tables overlapping and have to click back and forth you are obviously missing information. But if you fold on a table and can still see it while acting at another you are able to process the information. You sometimes see each showdown and form impressions of players from that. You may be able to put some quick notes on a player as well.

I also bought my new monitor mid year and my results went through the roof. That had a lot to do with where I am playing but I feel a lot of information was gathered by being able to see everything.

It has to do with both your video card and monitor.

You have to max out at the lowest highest supported resolution, if you see what I mean.

E.g. your gfx card might be kickass (like mine) but my monitors are comparatively crappy (ex company) so when I play games like half life II they look amazingly real, but the resolution isn't as high as I'd need it for 4 table non-overlapping online poker.

Ok so what do I need to do? My machine is gateway I bought the monitor from Sam's and I have no idea what brand it is. I know myself well enough to know I bought the cheapest one they had.

Have a read of this.

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0, ... 337,00.asp

But it simply comes down to sliding the bars and selecting colour depths until you find something acceptable, I'm afraid.