If you read any poker publications at all, whether it be online forums or poker magazines, you have no doubt seen someone talking about "multi-tabling". As its name implies, this simply refers to playing more than one table at one time, and can only be done online (unless you run REALLY fast When people first hear of this idea, they usually think its either a great idea, or a stupid idea. The truth is, its a little of both. This article will talk a little about who should multi-table, why and how.

Not everyone should be attempting to multi-table. The first and most important requirement before you should even THINK about trying to multi-table is that you be a winning player. This is something that a lot of people (especially break-even players) tend to lie to themselves about. If, over the course of the last 6-12 months, you have not made a good amount of money, you should not multi-table. The reason for this is simple, if you cant consistently beat one table, how can you expect to beat 4 or 6?

Second, make sure you have the bankroll for multi-tabling. The classic cash-game theory that I live by is to have at least 10 buy-ins for the game I am playing. Obviously if I am now playing 2 tables, I need more buy-ins. It's not a factor of double, but I would say maybe 50%. So if you need 10 buy-ins to single table, you need 15 to play 2 tables, and 22 to play 3 tables, etc.

Ok, so you're a winning player and you have the bankroll to multi-table and you decide to take a stab at it. How should you go about it? First, I would start at a level below where you are playing. If you're a winning player at $1/$2, start your multi-tabling at $.50/$1. This just ensures that if it turns out you are totally not ready, you don't immediately lose a large chunk of your bankroll. Next, move up slowly. Start with 2 tables for a few sessions. If you are profitable, move up to 3 tables, then 4. No matter what anyone says, I wouldn’t recommend playing more than 4 tables at one time. Once you can be profitable at 4 tables, you can move back up to your original limit. It's also important to note that 1 or 2 sessions doesn’t mean you are profitable. I would say you should have at LEAST 5 winning sessions out of 7 or 8 tries before you should consider moving up limits or number of tables. THIS IS IMPORTANT! If you move up too soon, you are just going to lose your money.

Ok, so you are playing 4 tables of $1/$2 and if you add up the money you have at risk, you could be playing one table of $5/$10, so you'd be better off doing that and concentrating better at one table, right? WRONG! The reason people multi-table instead of moving up limits is simple...lower limits are better for making consistent profit. You'll win more often at lower limits. And even if you have a bad night at one table, you can have a good night at another table and totally negate the loss. This helps lower variance, so you'll have smaller downswings, while maximizing the potential for profit.

The key to successful multi-tabling is patience. Especially if you have a REALLY good session, you'll be tempted to jump up in limits or in number of tables, but that's only going to end in disaster. Take your time, get good at 2 tables before you go to 3 tables. Be profitable at 4 tables of $.50/$1 before you move up to $1/$2. Lastly, multi-tabling is about betting patterns. With 4 tables going, you're not going to be able to remember who bet out with garbage and who bluffs. What you WILL be able to do is remember betting patterns. A preflop raise then flop check-raise from early position means a strong hand. A limp then a flat call of a preflop raise often means a low-mid pocket pair. These are the kinds of patterns that you will have to recognize before you can successfully play more than one or two tables at a time.

Hopefully this article will give you some of the perils and pitfalls of multi-tabling along with the possible upside. I would say that 95% of players probably shouldn't multi-table. I am a profitable player and I STILL don't multi-table. I would rather concentrate on individuals at 1 or 2 tables than pick out betting patterns at 4 tables. That said, I have good friends that play VERY profitably at up to 8 tables (more than 4 requires a multi-screen set up). I hope this article was helpful and good luck at the tables!

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