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In the world of poker, proper table selection can be decisive for beginners and experienced players alike. This strategy involves choosing games where less experienced or even weak opponents are more common, which is often referred to as bumhunting. Recreational or weak players often overplay their hands and make mistakes, which in turn improves your winrate.
Whether it’s high stakes or your first steps at micro stakes, the goal remains the same: find tables where you have an advantage. For every serious player, maximizing your income should be a priority, and targeting weaker opponents is one of the best ways to do this. In this article, we will tell you how to choose tables wisely, and provide useful software that can automate this process.
How Rooms Fight Table Selection
It is important to understand that poker sites have a negative attitude towards table selection. They prefer to host online games where the players are of equal skill, as this allows them to collect more rake from each pot. Some poker sites have even introduced formats like Zoom poker to minimize table selection and increase rake.
While the term “bumhunting” may sound negative, table selection actually works to your advantage as a player. The bulk of your income will come from playing against less experienced opponents, as the difference in skill between other regulars, semi-pros, and professionals is minimal, especially considering the high rake fees.
The Impact of Table Selection on Increasing Profit in Poker
Your winrate in poker is a measure by how much you earn as a player, usually expressed in big blinds per 100 hands (bb/100). Reaching a positive winrate is already an achievement, especially considering that you need to compensate for the rake.
For example, at a $10NL table, the rake is usually around 8 big blinds per 100 hands (8bb/100), which immediately puts you in the negative -8bb/100. To overcome this barrier, you need to target players who are clearly weaker than you are. People who lose money in poker are usually referred to as recreational players.
The difference in your win rate will be noticeable if you play at tables with one or even two of these recreational players, compared to tables full of equally skilled opponents. This is simple poker math, and over time, this difference will be significant and will directly affect your poker income.
Tips on how to Identify a Fish
The famous phrase from the movie Rounders: “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker” is relevant in online poker as well. Poker players range from beginners to pros, and to increase your profits it is important to play against recreational players as often as possible.
Key signs of weak players:
- Nickname and avatar: look for unusual or personalized nicknames and avatars, such as photos of family members, pets, or references to hobbies, such as football clubs or famous poker players.
- Short stacks: fish often come to the table with non-completer stacks, like 72BB instead of 100BB.
- High VPIP with a large gap to PFR: Look for players with a high VPIP (voluntarily put money into pot), especially if there is a large difference between VPIP and PFR (preflop raise percentage), such as 40-10.
- Frequent limping: Another classic tip is that recreational players will often limp rather than raise preflop.
- Min 3-bet: Fish will often min 3-bet preflop.
- Donk betting: Look for players who bet first on the flop against the preflop aggressor, this called donk betting.
- Large open raise sizes: Recreational players may use unusually large bet sizes when opening the betting preflop.
- Unusual postflop plays: Look out for unusual postflop plays, such as unusual bet sizes or unusual lines.
- Frequent all-ins preflop: They may frequently go all-in preflop with a wide range of hands.
Recognizing these characteristics will help you spot the fish at the table and improve your profits.
Strategies for Effective Table Selection
To make table selection easier, use the following techniques:
- Expand your options: Sign up for multiple poker sites in your area to increase your chances of finding profitable tables.
- Deposit and research: Make multiple deposits at each site and check out the tables to find the most profitable ones.
- Constantly scan for profitable tables: Continue to search for the best tables even after you find a good one. Use two screens, one for playing and one for searching for new tables.
- Be ready to leave: When a weak player leaves a table, be prepared to leave it too and find a new one. Regularly evaluate the profitability of your current table, especially when you are UTG, so that you can leave it immediately if necessary.
- Use software wisely: Consider using table scanners and seating scripts to improve your table selection process. Make sure you follow each site’s rules for using such tools.
And if you are suddenly looking for auxiliary software, we have prepared a ready-made solution for you. Even two solutions!
MagicSeat and One007 are the Best Programs for Table Selection
Today, there are special programs that make it easier for players to choose a table. Among the most popular are MagicSeat and One007. With their help, you can easily find tables with weaker players, which means you can win more often.
MagicSeat and One007 work according to a smart algorithm that selects a good seat at the table in just a few seconds. This is convenient for those who want to start the game right away and not waste time scrolling through lobbies.
If you want to know more, visit each software’s website, you can find out more about all the functions, and if there’s something you can’t set up, there is support that can even control your PC remotely and help you with the installation and further use of such software.
These programs support almost all known poker rooms, including:
- Winning Poker Network (WPN).
- iPoker.
- 888poker.
- Chico Poker Network.
With MagicSeat and One007 software, the question “How to choose a table?” no longer arises. For new users, there is a free trial period of 10 to 14 days to try the software and see if it suits you. This period is quite enough to get familiar with its capabilities.
Data Mining as a Top Opportunity to Increase your Winrate in Poker
Experienced poker players increasingly use not only table selection, but also hand history data mining – a database of hand histories played by other players. In essence, this is the collection of data on the actions of opponents at the poker tables. Such data can be imported into programs like PokerTracker or Holdem Manager to see detailed statistics on the opponents you need. This approach allows you to track their playstyle and tendencies, even if you are playing with them for the first time.
At low and medium stakes, opponent analysis collected through hand history data mining is an invaluable resource. Key metrics like VPIP, PFR and 3BET allow you to understand how your opponent plays, where his weak points are, and what type of player he is. In difficult situations when a quick and accurate decision is required, statistics help you act with confidence and increase your chances of winning. The more data you have, the more accurately you can adjust your strategy and significantly increase your win rate in poker.
Let’s compare how many hands a single player can collect over a certain period of time to what data mining provides. A typical multi-tabling regular on PokerStars, playing 6-max NL100 tables, collects from 1,000 to 4,000 hands per day. By subscribing to data mining, you can get 200,000-300,000 hands per day. This immediately gives a huge advantage and extensive information for analysis.
Advantages of data mining:
- Time saving: you no longer need to sit at the table for many hours to study your opponents, you can buy data mining and immediately adjust to the game.
- Preparation off the tables: outside of poker sessions, you can study your opponents and adjust your tactics against them.
- Confidence at new stakes: you will feel much more comfortable climbing the stakes.
As you can see, there are plenty of advantages to using data mining. Remember that the man who owns the information owns the world. Contact us to get the best offer!
Conclusion
Now you know how important effective and competent table selection is to increase your income in poker. We recommend that you analyze your current approach to table selection and, if necessary, improve it based on the listed recommendations. And if you additionally need hand history data mining, contact us on Skype / Telegram.
