Choosing the best table is something you should definitely know and master if you want to improve your poker skills and win serious money. Let’s look at the main four things you should be paying attention to:
#1 Who Are Your Opponents?
First of all, you need to pay attention to other players sitting at the same table as you. Are they better than you or not? Do you feel like you control the table? If not — who do you think is the most dominant player on that table.
You shouldn’t be afraid to ask yourself these things after a couple of hands. More importantly, you shouldn’t hesitate to change the table if you don’t feel like you have a chance at beating your opponents at your current one.
#2 Take A Walk Around the Poker Room
Every professional poker player knows this — scanning your opponents is perhaps the most crucial step towards selecting the best possible table. If you are visiting some venues often, you first want to make sure whether there are some familiar faces that you want to join or avoid.
Next, you need to go a step further and scan the type of people sitting at tables. If you see that there are people who seem like amateurs having a good time and drinking beer, this is a perfect situation for you. It’s pretty easy to notice who is playing to have fun, and who came to win some money. If you want to capitalize on playing poker, you should go for the first group, especially if they are deep-stacked.
#3 Winning A Hand Doesn’t Mean Anything
Many players who think about changing tables are carried away when they win a hand, so they decide to stay, only to lose it all. If a table doesn’t work for you most of the time, a single good hand won’t change anything.
You must be prepared to change tables even when you get lucky. You need to remember that poker is a game of skill rather than a game of chance, and it is up to you to create your own luck. You won’t be able to do that by playing at a table that clearly doesn’t suit you.
#4 Don’t Be Afraid to Leave
Sitting at a poker table that doesn’t suit you can be painful, so don’t be afraid to take the initiative and ask to move for another table. Nobody is going to judge you for doing that, so don’t feel afraid or ashamed to do it. Even if someone asks you why you decided to move, just make a joke about it and go on your way. You can always tell them that the current table was never lucky for you.