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The Pros and Cons of Multi-Tabling

If you play Texas holdem in a card room, multi-tabling is not really an issue for you. You can only, physically, sit at one table at a time, right? (You can try to play two, but it's not a good idea and your local card room probably won't let you anyway).

If you play on online poker, however, most sites have software that lets you play three or four games at once. That's called multi-tabling, and it has some pretty distinct advantages and disadvantages.

The Good

Your chances go up. Games can get "good" fast, with a lot of action and a lot of weak players suddenly appearing. You want to be able to play in them when they come up, and when you multi-table, you multiply your opportunities for getting in to those games. Stack the Texas holdem odds in your favour.

Your win rate should also go up. If you win consistently at one table, you should also win at three or four. If you can multi-table without losing much from your game, and you make $15 per hour at one table, there's no reason you shouldn't make up to $60 per hour playing four. If online poker is your business though, you should be keeping careful records to ensure your per table win rate doesn't decrease significantly.

Playing more than one table also keeps your focus sharp. A good poker player folds a lot. They know the edge is in playing hands with an advantage. This leaves a lot of down time, though, and if you use the down time to watch TV or pay bills, it can take away from your game. If you're multi-tabling, you're involved in hands much more often so you should always be in "poker mode", and playing your best game.

The Bad

Here's the flipside to the win rate going up: Your loss rate goes up.

You can lose money twice as fast playing online Holdem at two tables. If you're not as good as you think and you're actually an overall losing player, you can guess what happens when you multi-table. Be honest about your ability to play one table well, and then assess how well you can play two or more at the same time.

Another flipside: Your focus can also be divided. You'll need to concentrate on more games at once. If you're honed in at one table, you may miss crucial information at another table. You might also get confused and make the right decision, but make it at the wrong table. Start with two tables at once and if you can handle it, work your way up.

Your comfort level could go down also. If you don't have the right screen, all four tables might not be clear at once, so you'll flip around a lot. That can be confusing. If may have to make decisions at two or three tables at the same time, with time counting down on you, that can also be stressful and lead to mistakes if you're not prepared.

The Conclusion

Ultimately, look at both sides as objectively as possible and take some time with your decision. Multi-tabling isn't for everybody. Try it for a month or two, maybe start out playing limit Texas holdem where the number of decisions in each hand is limited. Then sit back and honestly assess your results before deciding whether or not to continue.

 

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