One of the things that I love best about online poker is the ability to play more than one table at a time.  I know that my friend Grubby plays up to four or five tables at once.  I didn’t think that was possible until I sat down and watched him play three SNGs and one cash game table.  Not only was I impressed with his ability to monitor and handle four tables at one time  (while carrying on a casual conversation with me about our favorite Hollywood starlets),  but I was inspired to give it a shot as well.  The opportunity to play more than one table online is an action junkie’s wet dream.

I often get asked by beginner players if they should play more than one table online.  My answer is always  “No.”  I suggest that they stick to one table and do everything in their power to focus and gain as much information about the other players.  Who’s considered the best player?  Who is the weakest?  Who is the loosest?  Who is the maniac?  Once they have a gauge on those types of players,  they need to adapt their strategies and play accordingly.  Playing more than one table at the same time will be a distraction for a new player and he should avoid doing this until he gets a better grasp on online poker.

I refused to play more than one table when I first made a jump to online poker.  My biggest fear was that I would lose focus and I would go on tilt,  not just at one table but on multiple tables,  and lose my entire online bankroll.  Now of course,  that problem has nothing to do with the inability to multi-task and play more than one table at a time.  My fears were more based on self-control and discipline.  If I was able to keep a firm grasp on my mental capacities while playing online,  I could more than handle playing multiple tables.

I began to play two tables at once.  It was innocent at first.  I signed up for a tournament while I was playing a ring game on Party Poker.  As my tournament began,  I kept playing on my ring game table because the players were so bad.  Since it was a NL table with a maximum buy-in,  I ran my stack up to almost 8x the buy-in.  I didn’t want to go anywhere so I stayed on the table while I played in the tournament.  I usually play super-tight in the beginning levels of large multi-table tournaments,  so I just folded while I played my ring game.  Not only was I able to take notes on both tables,  but I also found myself more focused than ever.  Once the tournament reached the middle stages and as soon as some of the worse players left my ring game table,  I shut down one table and shifted my entire focus to the tournament.  I found a happy medium,  where I could function properly and make decisions on more than one table at a time without worrying about overextending my focus.

I also discovered that when I played one table online,  I would often find myself reading poker blogs or the newspaper,  watching TV or writing emails.  That meant I was lacking serious focus at the tables.  With so much down time in between hands,  I let my mind slip out of 100%-poker mode.  By adding a second table to my session,  I eliminated the possibility that I would be screwing around flipping through the channels or losing focus by reading too many bad beat stories on poker blogs.  In that sense,  the second table helped me focus more.

I once tried to play three tables at once and it didn’t work out.  At times,  you find yourself in the middle of two hands at once and then you see A-A at your third table and all hell breaks lose.  It was difficult to pay attention to players’ betting patterns on three tables.  I was over my head playing three tables and I quickly downgraded to two.

Advantages of Playing Multi-tables

The biggest advantage to playing more than one table is the ability to increase your hourly win rate.  If you are winning about 10 big bets per hour,  then if you add one or two more tables,  you are increasing your chances to add to your winnings.

I notice that I play tighter when I play more than one table.  I am seeing two or three times as many hands per hour,  which means I am mucking those marginal hands,  and hands out of position.  Yes,  that’s another added bonus,  increasing the amount of hands you can play per hour.  Playing online is already faster than playing in a casino or card room.  Add a second or third table and within an hour you will see more hands than if you sat in a casino for four or five hours.

If you play more than one table at an online site that offers Bad Beat Jackpots or High Hand Jackpots,  you increase your odds of getting a share of that jackpot if you open up two or three of those tables at the same time.

If you are distracted easily,  playing two tables can cure your short attention span since there’s always something going on.

Disadvantages of Playing Multi-tables

The biggest disadvantage is probably why I stopped playing multi-tables.  You need to be focused and disciplined.  You cannot play tired and must have your  “A-Game”  at all times if you want to play more than one table.  By increasing the number of tables that you are playing,  you are cutting down on your chances of giving each table and every hand your fullest concentration.

Also,  playing more than one No Limit table is actually bad for you since you gain the most information from your opponents based on their betting patterns.  In a Limit ring game,  the strategy is basic and you are playing ABC poker.  But there are several subtle differences in playing No Limit and by not paying attention to the entire table’s action,  you are hurting yourself by missing out on some valuable information that you will use at a later time.

Just because you are a winning player on a single table this does not automatically mean that you will triple your profits if you play on three tables.  You still have to deal with variance and other factors that might cut into your hourly win rate.

Suggestions for Multi-table Junkies

Purchase a larger,  higher-resolution screen so you can see all your multi-tables in one glance.

Avoid starting SNGs at the same time.  Stagger the starting times so you don’t end up heads-up on two SNGs simultaneously.

If you can choose the color of your deck,  pick different colors for different tables.

Try to install software like Poker Tracker,  which will help analyze your hands since you will be playing two or three times more than usual.  Determine if your hourly win rate has increased since you started multi-tabling.

Turn off the TV and cell phone,  and don’t do anything except play poker if you are going to play more than one table.

Select one main table to which you give your best focus and attention,  and have secondary tables where you play super-tight.

Avoiding playing more than one No Limit table at a time.  It’s harder to obtain betting information on a player if you are not watching that specific table.

I would not suggest that new players start playing multi-tables.  At the same time,  if you are a disciplined individual with excellent multi-tasking and concentration skills like my friend Grubby,  then I suggest you give it a shot.  But as soon as you feel that you are off your game,  shut down the other tables and just play on one.  Otherwise, you are liable to go on tilt on several tables and you’ll bleed your bankroll away.  Track your results.  The numbers never lie.  If you are doing better playing more than one table,  then keep it up.  If you are not,  then go back to basics.

For me personally,  I don’t think it’s as profitable to play more than one table unless I’m just starting out a tournament and I’m ending up my session on a ring game table.~~

Be warned! Other players are trying to figure out you're playing several tables. Read Ashley Adams' article Jiujitsu Against the Multi-Tabling Online Poker Player on Pokermagazine.com.