Picking the Right Table

[JPSmiley]

Just wondering how you guys go about picking a table to sit down and play NL cash Holdem. Is it better to choose a table full of people with low stacks compared to the allowed maximum, since the players will most likely play conservative, and u can steal pots, or a table with 1 person that has significantly above the maximum, meaning the table is probably full of weak players and he is cleaning up? Or do you want people with large stacks in order to win more off of them? Also, when do you know it is time to leave a table and try a different one. Or what are signs (besides a growing stack) that you are at a good table. Thanks for any info.

[Govman6767]

I think the question depends more on you than anything.
Depending on what type of player you are.
A crazy agg player's gonna tell you to play at a tight rock table
A rock's gonna tell you to sit at a table where no one is raising preflop
A clueless dude is gonna tell you to sit at the table with the most Hot women.
I would tell you find a table with 2 or 3 drunks 4 rocks and 2 crazy dudes
That's my prefrence for a live table.
Online unless you sit and watch for an hour trying to get a read on ppl who will prob leave within that hour anyway it's hard to find the right table... not that it can't be done it's just a pain in the butt. (I'm too lazy for this but if you spend the time searching out the right table online it can be worth it's weight in gold) I'd rather be playing though [b]You have to figure out what your style is YOURSELF and then figure out what kind of table you want to play at that will be the most profitable for you.
No one on this site should be able to tell you what table you should sit at without knowing EXACTLY what kind of player you are.

[Govman6767]

One more thing I've been at some the best table's in the world as far as players willing to throw away their money Fish just waiting to be relieved of their cash. It is at these tables that I have taken the worst beatings of my life at. Sometimes to win the most money you have to risk more of your own money. Just cause it's an awsome table DOES NOT MEAN YOUR GOING TO WIN. But I'd rather sit at a table when i can win a fortune or lose a fortune than grind out a 7 hour session for 10 dollars and my free buffet.
I guess what i'm trying to say is I'd rather play with 9 fish get sucked out of all my money then to sit down with 9 rocks knowing that on my best day i'll never win more than 50 bucks off em.

[nflchad]

People who buy short are traditionally going to be bad players as its almost always to your advantage to have the most chips on the table. As for a table with one big stack and the others short find out if he's a good (tight) player or a poor (loose) player (assuming lowish stakes), this should be evident quickly. Don't play with a bunch of large stacks unless most of them are fish as you'll be at a disadvantage. Hope this was somewhat helpful

[BrianSwa]

alot of things go into picking a good table, look at average pot, average amount of players seeing flop. All that info can be found before you even open table.


If someone has killer stack dosent mean they are good at all. They could be the worse player at table in a $100 buy in table and have over $200 bucks there. If you are good and patient you might end up with all that money by time you leave.

If you use pokertracker just fire it up and see if anyone at the table is in your database.

[nflchad]

FYI this is the advantage of PokerAce, it will automatically display stats on all of the tables you have up.

[BrianSwa]

no kidding hmmmm ok looks like I will be making another investment then.

[JPSmiley]

If i am a fairly conservative player, it is much better for me to be playing on a 9-person table rather than a 6-person table correct?

[BrianSwa]

yes, 6 person you have to more agressive then 9 person. Values of hands go up alot more in 6 handed tables.

[Reel Deal]

I always look for a bunch of short stacks and then buy-in for the max.

[lightfungus]

I have been meaning to start this thread, but I have been busy as of late. I would love to hear from the more successful players around, but what I have been doing, and I mean all the time, is sort the tables by avg pot. I find the one with the highest average pot. Usually, I find one or two itiots that a trying to give away their money. The longer I play with them the better chance I have at taking their money. Their aggressive play usually is contagious and the rest of the table gets in on the call fest and the preflop pots get large and the better hands take them down.

This is only NL though. I am not sure if this works for limit poker, but I find success with this strategy.

I read Barry Greenstein's poker book and he had an entire chapter on game selection. This is very important to him, and I agree that this has the potential to determine whether you make money or not that session. He also says never get up when you are winning and feel like you have a significant advantage (like 3%, where these percentages are based on a couple of things, youd have to read his book). Another possibly useful tidbit is when moving up in limits try to sit in with the min buyin to get your feet wet. If is doesnt go so well, drop back down and think about it. But only move up when you have conquered the current level, not just when you have the roll for it.

I hope to do some hand histories in the future from his book.

[MathBabe]

I've been thinking about this lately too, although not about NL. I play limit, and I prefer to play with as close to 10 people as possible, so I look at tables with 9 seated and choose the one with highest pot size and players/flop. I figure the more players per flop, the looser they are, and the less likely to be good players. PokerStars makes this easy, and I seem to recall doing the same on PartyPoker.

I use Gametime and I notice recently that I do better when the average VPIP for the table is between 20 and 30, not the 50 and over that you routinely find on the micro limit tables.

I also notice that I do better when GameTime is showing that I'm playing with mice, calling stations, and fish; and not doing well against dice or tasmanian devils. (I don't expect to do well against eagles or moneybags!)

I'm not sure whether I should seek these tables out, or not. I suspect the reason is that I'm still not playing aggressively enough (PokerTracker stats suggest that), and that if I learn to play well against the loose/aggressive players, I'll win more money longterm.

[lightfungus]

Bump for TP and others!!!

[PShabi]

For me, it's not about table selection as much as it is "seat" selection. I like to isolate weak players with raises so I specifically look to sit to the immediate left of people seeing half the flops and not raising enough preflop. If I've got a table with two donkeys and they're to MY LEFT with 3 tight-aggressive players between us I'm not in a good situation.

I also strictly play Party Poker. Bottom line:

More tables equals more fish and more opportunity to find the perfect spot. I never, EVER settle for a mediocre table at Party. With PokerAce, I open up tables and join individual waitlists. I've also got a buddy list of over 500 players, some of whom still play 5/10. I pick on them a bit too. By the time a seat opens up, I have a good read on the table and I can determine if it is profittable quickly.

Wouldn't it suck to be some unknowing donkey just having fun; meanwhile, you end up on someone's "list" and they practically stalk you to take your money?

[lightfungus]

Lol, they just dont know.