Ah, the internet, what great benefits you bring. Ah, the internet, you destroy my soul. This would be the best way to sum up multi tabling in online poker. Multi tabling can be a great asset to any online player, if they want it to be. Likewise, multi tabling can lead to the destruction of any player’s skill and general passion for the game. There is no less than infinite players who have gone from steady winners to steady losers as a result of abusing their ability to multi table. It might not make sense to you why a player can be so greatly harmed by multi tabling, but it is simpler than you think.
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The benefits (and drawbacks) of multi tabling
One of the main reasons that online poker is so much more popular than live poker is the pace of the games. If you are playing at a live table you might get 10-15 hands in per hour. Online, however, most tables see around 100 hands per hour. Then you have multi tabling, an advent that allowed players to make game play even quicker, after all, who wants to wait 30 whole seconds for a new hand?
So, aside from less time in between hands, what is the other major benefit of multi tabling? Increased win rates. If you can play one table and earn $24/hour, what is stopping you from playing two tables and earning $48/hour? Unfortunately win rates do not simply multiply by how many tables you play. They can absolutely go up though. If you are playing one table and generating profits around $24/hour, you can likely expect around $42/hour if you tack another table on. Add a third and your hourly may very well be $57. As you can see, the amounts increase, but they are not in direct relation to the original hourly earn when one tabling. The reason for this is the lack of concentration and focus.
One tabling means that you can devote all of your energy to picking apart each and every player’s tendencies. Even playing two tables can afford you this luxury, but once you start adding on a few more you will notice a steep drop off in your awareness. Pretend you are watching sports on TV, you can easily focus on one player, probably even two, but if I tell you to watch four players you will inevitably lose track. This is exactly how multi tabling in poker works. Once you add too many tables you will begin to play on what is called “auto pilot.” Auto pilot is exactly as it sounds, all of your actions are made automatically and with general disregard for pertinent information that would otherwise be available to you if you were playing only one table. Playing on auto pilot can be a good strategy if you are playing low to mid stakes poker, in fact many players would endorse it, but you must have a solid skill set to be able to effectively pull it off. If you are unable to beat your limits playing one or two tables, adding more will just wipe out your poker bankroll even faster. The same can be said for marginal winners. If you are making a small profit now, adding a few tables will just erase the profit and set you back to being a breakeven player. Focus on becoming a solid winner at your limits by one tabling initially and adding more tables later on.