Online Poker Table Selection

There are millions of players from all over the world that are regularly taking their seats at online poker tables. The question is; how do you pick the right table? Table selection is very important and can greatly contribute to your successes and/or failures in online poker. Proper table selection must take into account the style of poker you play, table statistics and what type of opponent playing styles caters to your advantage. In addition, the stake levels can be very indicative of player caliber and should be taken into consideration.

Stats

Just about every online poker site nowadays offers some general table stats in the lobby before you even open up a specific table. These stats are commonly presenting you with the average pot of each hand, the percentage of players to the flop and the hands per hour. These statistics can be very useful if you pay attention to them. Some players also like to use additional software that can track player stats of the tables you are sitting at. This gives you live data on each player and presents you with an opportunity to see the tendencies of each player over the course of a period of time.

Proper table selection goes beyond using tracker software to analyze the table once you're at the table. It really begins before you even sit down using the commonly provided three statistics. The average pot can you tell you in relation to the stake levels, the action at the table. If you're playing a $.50/$1 table and the average pot of the majority of the tables is between $9 and $15 with one table sitting out at around $40. Obviously, the action on this $40 table is a lot higher and more than likely has a ton of loose players.

The next thing to look at is the percentage of players to the flop. This gives you an idea of playing style and caliber that is currently at the table. If the percentage is high (over 30-35%), especially on a full-ring game, the table is comprised of a decent amount of loose players. Table selection all depends on your playing style and what works best for you. For example, if you are a tight/aggressive player (like most veteran skilled players tend to be) and are looking to multi-table, you are going for tables that have decent pot sizes, high percentage to the flop and a decent hand per hour rate. This ensures that when you get an optimal hand, you'll have callers and the pot will be worth it to push your chips in.

Hands per hour are really important in multi-tabling because it gives you an idea of the speed of the game. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting at a table with the world's slowest players. More hands per hour means more cards seen and more cards seen means more money. Most tight/aggressive players want to sit at a table with a good mix; half of the table being loose/passive or loose/aggressive and a smaller portion of the table being conservative or tight players.

If you are a loose player, you may want to try the reverse table selection tactic and play at tables with more conservative players. This means, lower average pot or at least a lower percentage to the flop. Some loose players choose this scenario to mix it up and switch back and forth between being loose and then tightening up to throw off the read of the conservative player that has you labeled as a donkey. The biggest thing to remember is that proper table selection takes into account your playing style, the table stats provided to you and the opponent playing style that best fits with your playing style.