What Do You Look For When Choosing A Poker Game?

Question #1:

Hi Henri

I hope you are doing well. Thanks for all the great info, it has helped me a lot. I was wondering if you could tell me what your most important factors are when trying to select a poker game to enter. What do you look for when deciding what table to play at?

Thanks and Take Care
Dave S.

Answer #1:

Hi David,

In the most basic terms: I look for players that are worse than me, the worse the better.

You could do this by:

  1. Buddylisting bad players
  2. Look for table players/flop (players to flop) percentage
  3. Scanning with poker software
  4. Sitting down, playing and seeing if there are loose players

That's about as easy as it gets.

Did that help? :)

Question #2:

That was great help!!

Thank you again.

Since I have been getting your tips and reading from your website I have started using the buddy list to mark players and I have also been keeping much better notes on the players I do find so that when I do sit with them I have a good idea of how they have played in the past up to the most recent.

The flop percentage is also a method I have used. I have also looked for the tables with the largest pot averages as a place to start to look for loose players. Is that a good idea? I hope it is ok that I wrote and asked you these questions. You have helped me a lot but I just wanted a little clarification on a couple points.

Thanks and Take Care
Dave

Answer #2:

I am more than happy to answer your poker questions, that's why I made my website and poker newsletter!

I have not used the large pot average as much in my poker career. The reason is that it often indicates a loose & aggressive game.

This can lead to unnecessary variance (ups&downs). But I do tend to look at those tables and see if there are maniacs there and not just loose & aggros who might play good but also might play bad. Hard to tell sometimes and it is safer to stick to the passive bad players.

So keep using the large pot average but be wary about the tables you find!

Good luck at the tables!

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