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By: Michael Cohen
One of the many advantages to playing poker on the internet is the ability
to play multiple games at once. Empire Poker allows you to play up to three
games at once. The decision whether to play two or more games at a time is
not to be taken lightly because it can greatly affect your win-loss rate.
When playing multiple games, you will naturally not be able to pay as much
attention to your every move and will probably play a little worse. If you
average $25 an hour playing one table, you may be only able to average $18
at each table. However, since you are playing two tables, you would then
average $36 an hour, which is still higher than the original $25. Thus, the
key factors when deciding whether or not to play multiple tables is
establishing what you believe you make an hour playing one table, how much
this will be decreased if you play two tables, and whether or not this new
number X 2 (or perhaps even 3) is greater than the original amount you were
making per hour.
Since playing two tables lowers your profit rate, you must have already
established that you can beat the game consistently in order for it to be
profitable to play two games at once. If you are breaking even at a limit
and decide to play two games at once at that limit, you will probably begin
to lose money since your profit rate will go from 0 to say -$5 an hour per
table, which amounts to -$10 an hour. If you are losing at a limit, you will
lose more if you play two games at once.
If you are beating a game, you may or may not be able to still beat that
game if you play two tables. For example, if you consistently are beating a
low fixed limit game, you will probably still be able to beat this game if
you play two of them at once. This is because you are probably beating this
game not by paying close attention to your opponents, but rather through
solid poker fundamentals like playing the right starting hands, pot odds,
etc. However, if you are playing no-limit games, you may not do as well if
you play two at once because no-limit games rely much more on reading your
opponents and adjusting your play to their style. Also, no limit games
introduce the bluffing element. Generally, players who play multiple tables
are more easily bluffed than players concentrating on one table because they
will just fold in all of their marginal situations.
Furthermore, playing more than one game can be stressful. You will be
constantly checking each game, making snap decisions every 15 seconds, and
perhaps getting confused which flop went with what pocket cards. This may
decrease the joy factor of the game, which may be more important to you than
any extra money you could make by playing two games at once. It also may
make you more prone to going on tilt.
If you are considering playing two games at once, your choice will come down
to how you answer the following questions:
- Can you beat this game consistently already?
- Are you beating this game because of poker fundamentals, rather than
relying on reading your opponents?
- Do you think you will make more money playing two games at once? If so,
does this money justify any potential "fun" you may lose because you can't
get as into the game?
If you answer yes to all of these questions, perhaps you should try playing
two games at once! Otherwise, you should probably stick to just playing one.
If you want to learn more, visit our EmpirePoker School
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