Two Table Experiment

I finally tried playing two tables at once, and it didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I did two $10 NL SNGs starting within five minutes of one another. I figured that I usually get restless in the early stages of the tournaments, because I’m not playing too many hands, and there are a lot of other players taking a while to make their moves. What better way to fill up the down time than to use it to play more poker? Plus I’ve read about many other people doing this online, so I know it can be done.

I’m definitely not a natural. I couldn’t get in a rhythm in either game, and I probably played way too tight and predictably. I intentionally opted to tighten up my starting hand requirements, since I would be going back and forth between tables, and wanted to minimize the times when I was in a hand on both at the same time. The problem is I was never in a hand on either table. I was getting some horrible cards, and when I even thought about playing a hand, someone would come in with a big raise ahead of me. Then I started getting paranoid that everyone knew I was playing super tight, and would steal my blinds just because they knew they could. But I couldn’t even get the cards to defend them.

In the top game, called the top game because it occupied the top half of my screen, I did absolutely nothing. I think I went through three or four cycles around the table without even seeing a flop. Eventually I was able to win a medium sized hand and steal some blinds so that while I was one of the shorter stacks, I was not to the point almost being knocked out.

On the bottom game, I wasn’t doing as well. I had seen a few flops, and nothing had come of them. I was down to about T800 chips. I had A9s on the button, and decided to try to steal some blinds. They were up to 100/200 I think. I don’t remember exactly because I was halfway paying attention to the top game. Anyway, I get called by JK. The flop is 9JA, the turn is a K and the river a rag. I’m not sure how much other players had put in, but I ended up with over T2000. Shortly there after I doubled up again, I don’t recall the hand, and I was the chip leader.

Switch back to the top game, blinds are starting to eat away at my stack. There are five of us left, and I try to make a stand with an ok, but not great hand. I get called and lose. I wish I remember the hand, but I know that I was ok the loss, so it couldn’t have been that bad of a play. At least that’s what I tell myself. Plus, now I can concentrate on the bottom game, where I’ve been watching the guy to my immediate right, raise and steal my big blind every time the table folds to him. I think I’ve had 93o in the BB the last four times around the table.

Five people left on the bottom game, and I’m the big stack. I move into aggressive mode, and start pushing the others around. I get caught once or twice and have to rebuild, but overall, I pretty much stay in the lead. Finally the fifth guy goes out, and I’m up by about T1000 on my next closest opponent.

Now I’m in the big blind again, and I finally get some decent cards. K9s. Not great, but we’re short handed, and on the bubble, so I’ll definitely take it. I am actually hoping that the SB will raise me as he has every previous hand, so I can put him all in. I’ve got about 4 times as many chips as him and I’m pretty sure he’d fold at any sign of resistance and if he doesn’t I still like my chances. Instead, the button raises, and the small blind folds. Thinking that he too must have figured out how tight I am playing, I stick to my plan and go all in. He calls with pocket nines, and suddenly I’m the short stack looking like I’m about to bubble out. The player to my left has a few more chips than me and has to be ecstatic at my misfortune. I steal his blind once, but I’m still below him. The next time he’s in the big blind, I get KJ and go all in from the small blind. He calls, with pocket nines. That’s the second time in like 10 hands that I get beaten by pocket nines. I am so pissed off at how I managed to lose a chip lead so late in the tournament and not even place in the money. Horrible play on my part.

So back to my multi table thoughts. As you can see, I pay much better attention when its just one table. I barely relate one hand from when I had two going. I was too flustered trying to pay attention to what was happening on each table that I couldn’t think about much else. I’m sure this is something that I can get over with practice, but it was way less enjoyable than just playing a single game and surfing the web, or writing blog entries. I think if I was playing limit it would be easier. Then I would only have to worry about folding, calling or raising, not how much I should raise by. Having to type the raise amount got to be a challenge when both windows’ timers were ticking away. I also couldn’t get a good read on any player since I was never watching them unless I was in the hand, and then only halfway.

Maybe I’ll try playing super micro limits on Poker Champs again, so that I can try to get better at two tabling. Until then, I am going to stick to one table and wait until I move up in stakes to increase my potential profit per hour.