Being successful in poker involves a lot of tough decisions, including carefully choosing which poker table to play. It is important that you consider this aspect seriously especially if you’re just starting to build your bankroll.
Remember, in order to crush the tables, you must play with players that are not as skilled as you, or simply those just within your range. When it comes to real money online poker, selecting tables is a difficult job. First, you’re competing against players from different parts of the world and they’re hiding behind screen names, which means their true identity are concealed.
You need to consider a lot of factors, and this is where we can help you with. We’ve listed some of the relevant statistics that you must watch carefully before hopping in any table to play.
Stakes
The stakes in a table refer to the size of the small and big blind, and also the bets involved. So if you have a 5c/10c table, the small blind is 5 cents, while the big blind is 10 cents.
Table Size
Each table allows a certain number of players to participate. You must put this into consideration, as well as the how many players are actually playing. A 5/9 table indicates that the table can accommodate a maximum of 9 players, but only 5 are actually competing. This means 4 seats are currently vacant.
Average Pot Size
This refers to the average winning pot available for a particular table. This stat also gives you an insight as to the kind of table you’re looking at. Other important determiners to consider are the limit, table speed, and the wait list.
Players Per Flop
When choosing a table to join, take note of the number of players who are not folding pre-flop – these are the players who see the flop. In a table comprised of 10 players, if there is 50% player per flop, this tells you that 5 players see each flop, meaning the pot has at least 5 big blinds.
Choosing The Right Table
The table that will give you a higher win rate is the table full of weak players, or those referred to as “fish“. They are the players that aren’t very skilled and are prone to losing pots.
How can you tell if a table is joined by a lot of fish players? Simply check the player per flop stat in each table. A higher figure indicates a higher number of weak players competing in that table. These type of players tend to chase losses that result in poor hand selection. So if you’re wondering which table to join, look at the player per flop. A 20% player per flop table would be a good place to start.
