Choosing the right table

[Quint]

What do you look for when choosing a table, or tables, to play? Flop %? hands per hour? avg. pot? another factor?

[GeoffM]

Well, I play O8, but normally, I'll look at avg. pot as opposed to % taking flop.

[omahilo]

I play a few games and I usually look at the avg pot as well.

[Aequitas58]

Are you a tight player? Look for tables with high average pots. These tables often have frequent pre-flop raises, and the most of the players are loose.

If you're a loose player and you like to see alot of hands for cheap (ie: limping) then choose a table w/ a smaller avg. pot. You'll be able to bully more people around, and take down many more smaller pots.

It all depends on how you like to play.

[PShabi]

Are you referring to Limit or No Limit?

I'll share anyway.

First, if you're a limit player and you're not using PokerTracker, you're behind the game. It'd be like a newspaper reporter using a typewriter and correction tape.

So, with PT, here's what I do.

First, my players autorate so I know who's fishy and who's not. When I find a fish, I had him to my buddy list. When I want to play, I open up my buddy list, which is pretty big, and I search all of my buddies who are online. If they're playing 3/6, I join the waitlist at their table. Then I join tables as they pop up. I'm hoping to get a seat one or two seats to the left of a fishy buddy.

However, using this system, you have to realize that if "FishyX" is your buddy, he's probably someone else's buddy. Sometimes, you find your buddy surrounded by sharks. Blah. However, if you are on the immediate left of the fish, you can still play profitably if he's extra loose postflop. You just isolate him.

Other than that, I like to try and have 2 or more players (hopefully to the right) with VP$IP of 30% or more. Using playerview, I have a readout of VP$IP, PFR, PostFlop Aggression, and the total hands. I have them autorated and the icon is displayed under them. The Post Flop aggression number is important too, because I get an idea who is soft postflop and who can be pushed around.

If players leaeve and there is a lot of TAG players left, I leave. I usually play 3, sometimes 4 tables at a time and I switch very frequently. Like 10 tables in a couple hours sometimes.

It's something I've really had to put an emphasis on and it's helped a lot.