Can I use My Poker Calculator On More Than One table at a Time?

Multi-tabling is one of the major issues when playing on the internet. It is definitely a skill in that it requires 100% concentration. Poker calculators fit very well with multi-tabling because they do a lot of the ground work for you in profiling and odds displays so that you are able to make quicker decisions which keep the flow of the table going while improving your hourly rate as well.

If you are planning to get a poker calculator for multi-tabling though you need one that you know can handle the task because many poker calculators simply cannot monitor more than one table because of something called screen scraper technology. Magic Holdem, Holdem Genius, Calculatem Pro all come to mind as poker calculators that are limited to one table only, because they are based on outdated software programming.

What this means is that the software you choose may very well not be what you are looking for. If you like to play at least two tables at a time, you need holdem indicator or tournament indicator both of which will automatically attach to all your open poker tables, while adding the further benefit of resizing to match your table or mini-sizing so that you can open it whenever you want a more full description of the statistics collected.

Most of the major poker sites allow for resizing now along with cascading or tiling instantly just by clicking a button. Since they are widely offering it, you know that a lot of players are multi-tabling then as then. I might caution you here though that it still takes a lot of skill and knowledge of the game. The more tables you play simultaneously, the more small edges you may have to give up to the table, playing more tight than normal.

In his book titled "Online Ace" Scott Fishman describes multi-tabling as part of the online rounder's game in that it evens out those bad beats you take. He invokes the bad beat variance as simply a part of the game and one of the best ways to get over it, is just open another table or tournament and start again. He regularly has 6, 8 and 10 tables going at one time, across multiple sites and several monitors.

If you think you are up to the challenge you can try a free poker calculator to help with your understanding of odds in poker.

Cake poker and Tournament Indicator.

The tournament poker calculator, Tournament Indicator can be used on Cake Poker which is an available alternative for US players and that is good news given how many sites still don't allow them. Here is a strategy video for a turbo sit and go tournament at Cake Poker.

MTT change-up.

So you have doubled up a few times and are running good. Several weak players at your table have literally handed you free chips and you have a couple maniacs who you have just up so perfectly where all you need is a medium strength hand to let them have it. You can already envision a good payout in this tournament nearing the bubble when all of a sudden.... table change.

Just when you have reached a complete understanding of your table and knew instinctively what to do in each situation, the announcement comes to let you know, “We are re-balancing tables.... you have been moved”. Gee thanks.

In multi-table tournaments this is the norm, so you really do have to get used to it, but the randomness of it happening can sometime throw you off guard in an unsettling way. Even tilting some players into poor judgment plays as soon as they move.

Well if you are using Tournament Indicator there are some things you can do to alleviate such a stressful occurrence besides of course, taking extra precaution in each hand at your new table.

The first thing you should know is that Tournament Indicator has a history function that can store previous profiles of opponents for up to two years. So when you do change tables make sure you have the history button selected as those tracked opponents will show up with stats from this tournament or any other you may have been in with that player.

Secondly, if the tournament is down to just a few tables, maybe even 5 or 6 and you know you have a stack that is going to take you deeper, why not open all those tables? Tournament Indicator will quickly attach to them and you can be then be collecting important information just like you were at each table. When table do collapse, the players which survived will all be in your history file so sitting at the same table with them isn’t going to be so foreign.

Finally, with your new tables first hand underway, Tournament Indicator automatically displays that player’s current mzone using clear color indicators. Now how is that profiling at a new table? Well tournament conditions can often override someone’s normal playing style, so if your opponent happens to be in red or orange mzone the likeliness of him being aggressive is already more plausible.

Using a poker calculator like Tournament Indicator to its fullest will provide you with critical information that hopefully translates to better decisions. That part is all up to you though.

Controversial hand in tournament play.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2581482

I felt the re-raise from the button was weak, but I don't get why this guy is calling with 56 suited, his looking at a raise, a re-raise and an all in. how can 56 suited possibly look like a decent hand here?

was pushing the right move here? I'm definitely not folding here and I don't really like calling because chances are I'm going to miss the flop and someone is going to stab it.

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Well pushing AK as a yellow MZone could be a viable play especially if you know who you are pushing into, but it is an aggressive strategy to be sure and you are letting the community cards decide the outcome.

AJ was a bigger mistake to me than the 56s but all three of you were playing the clock. I noticed the blind levels put you imminently close to the first break which is kind of turning point in tournaments for those with the attitude of getting big or getting out. They are abundant in a 5 buck tournament. Gridline seems to be resigned to letting it ride in a big pot, and if he actually did analyze that you two were playing off each other, he stands a good chance of winning... even odds probably!

I am not saying it was a good move no, but once he started calling out of position, I could just hear him saying oh what the fck... I gotta go to sleep anyhow.

As a short stack (none of you were really short though) I would have been in this pot with connectors if my poker odds and position were wonderful using critical analysis, not impatience at getting to bed. So it may be easy to discard what appears to be a weak hand, but sometimes that kind of play is actually a result of a little experience as well.

It is a wonderful thing these low limit buy-ins, and although you let it ride with a strong hand - you still let it ride. You would have lost with AA here too, but shoving it ahead on a GCI hand is where your strategy, not theirs, needs further comprehension.

his is one of those hands where you cannot be faulted, but neither applauded. In that sense I am really not saying you were right or wrong, as I am sure on many occasions I would have done the same thing... but not always.

I think the bigger question is here, why are you asking? I do not mean that in a sarcastic way either, but more were you able to comprehend all of the dynamics that went into the hand AND are you good with it?

As I referred to above, some of your opponents (many actually) are not playing optimally and your reraise/shove commits 2 opponents to the hand at a GCI moment.

Do you really understand that you were shoving into a spot where you were likely behind a pocket pair?

Were you aware of the break/blinds and the effect they have on other yellow/orange stacks?

Did you KNOW both of your opponents?

Did you consider your bankroll and payout structure?

Just some things that may make you think... maybe not.

Another point I might offer is that getting it all in with the best - preflop - is only justification for certain scenarios. I think a lot of players walk away busted from the table deceiving themselves they played great, or at least better than their opponents because they were ahead when all the chips went in.

Now change this hand into another tournament dynamic in that you paid a much larger buy-in like $100, $200 or $1,000 even. Would you be so fast to to make this a GCI hand and say you did the right thing? I am not sure, but you should be. Certainly then, there is reason to contemplate a call, then fold to flop pressure.

Coop replied: I don't think your bankroll should play a role in this decision. First because you should have at least 50 buy-ins for any MTT you play (though 100 is much better and safer) so losing the buy-in will not hurt you, and second because you are still pretty far away from the money. Until then you will have to double up some times and much better opportunities don't come around that often!

You are actually making the case FOR a bankroll decision here Coop, which when building should NEVER be ignored. If he is playing with a good sized roll, then its probably an easier decision to push, if he isnt, he should be thinking how likely it is he can make the money by folding.

I get the impression that he is NOT playing with a bulging bankroll, and you cant just lay that 50 or 100 buy-ins on everyone who plays poker because in a 5 buck tournament, the MAJORITY of players are actually playing over their head if you go by that rule Coop. Not everyone enjoys a bountiful bankroll sir and your book may be right for you, but not others plugging away at the 5 buckers, with 60 bucks in their account!

I also feel thats the real reason why this hand showed up here, and it is one of those defining guidelines about learning the game and making the money and building your poker bankroll tight-ass style, rather than looking for small edges to toss it all in the middle. That in my opinion, is a negative recipe for a growing skill-set.

I think this hand has a lot more to do with his personal comfort level at being this aggressive at this stage. I think there is reason to support a call, OR raise OR fold play here, where other factors, rather than hand strength are more important than most would realize.

I would have likely done the same thing most times, strictly as a result of having no bankroll concern whatsoever, but I dont see this hand a right or wrong play - definitively.

Your Bankrolling Odds in Poker

I played a full slate of sit and go games over the weekend at Full Tilt, Poker Stars, and Cake Poker. I am happy to report that I made upward trends in the bankroll at each website, but not without the usual frustrating bad beats and random coolers getting in the way on occasion.

The good thing about bad beats is that someone has made an error playing against you, so really, they are bound to give their winning back simply because of indisputable laws of poker math. Poor decisions will result, over time, in losing money. However, the poor decisions do not necessarily start at the table. As I found while playing this weekend, table buy-in and competition is your first big decision.

You can view the lobby of a sit and go tournament while it is filling up, so when I play the $20 and $30 buy-ins I sharkscope my opponents before I commit. There was one 9 seated $30 table that had 4 players patiently waiting for 5 more entries. I scoped each one of those players to find they were all sharks with rounder style graphs reaching for the sky – all four of them I am not kidding. Even when I play my best, these guys know how to adapt and exploit my weaknesses to the point it made no sense for me to join that table. In fact, I think at least two of them should have reconsidered playing that sit and go. I mean why seek out the toughest competition? So that was a good decision for me.

In joining other games that day at these levels however, the above example was actually rare. I researched every opponent I had that day and found that the majority of players were playing above their bankroll. How do I know this? Well sharkscope does offer information like ROI%, but it also shows total profit and from there it’s easily discernable that a player sitting down at a 30 buck sit and go table with a lifetime earnings negative $338 simply shouldn’t be there.

At $20 and $30 sit and go tournaments your bankroll should be at least $500, To me a $1,000 is probably more like it, especially if your skills aren’t up to par with a bankroll you may have padded with a “fortunate” win.

Here are some other observations of random players I saw at these tables:

Total profit of $112 over 2,354 games.

Total profit of (negative) -$3,225 over 1,821 games.

Total profit of (negative) -$1,003 over 231 games.

It went on and on. Is it any wonder then that the majority of players lose money playing online poker? You simply are not giving yourself a chance to win in the long run, by playing tables higher than your bankroll allows. Astoundingly, at least 4 of every 9 players at at each table I searched over the weekend were there above their bankroll and long term losers at sit and go tournaments.