Poker Table Choice Is Critical

Here is something I don't see discussed very often. Let's say you've decided to head over to your favourite casino for a day of poker. You get there and you sign up for whatever game it is you want to play. You ask the guy taking down your name approximately how long he thinks it is going to be before you get called to come and take a seat. He tells you that he doesn't have any idea. There are several people on the list before you so it could take a while. Unless of course a bunch of people get up at the same time, vacating a bunch of seats and then you get called. Either way, he hasn't been very helpful giving you the information you were looking for.

At this point you look at the board and realize that although there is a small chance the list of names ahead of you could move quickly, you decide it probably won't, so you go to grab a coffee and a snack.

While you are grabbing your coffee, you realize they have the game going on the big screen so you sit down to watch for a little. Your team is playing today and you forgot about the game so figure this should be a good opportunity to catch up and enjoy. Eventually, you start to get low on your coffee, so you go for a refill. While filling up you run into a buddy that you haven't seen in a while so you spend the next fifteen minutes or so playing catch up. Just as your buddy is about to start telling you about what happened at his aunt Helga's last Thursday they call your name to come and take a seat. You say your farewells and head over to the poker pit.

The pit boss is kind enough to show you to your seat. You sit down and buy in immediately, or you bought in at the cage, depending on the type of casino you play at, and you post right away. After about five minutes of play you realize the game is crazy. Raisers in early position are not discouraging callers. People seem to be calling bets regardless of their starting hands. It seems as though most of the people at your table are playing as if they are not even looking at their hole cards. Everyone seems to be playing like they are pulling slot machines. This would be great if you were in the mood today for a crazy game but you aren't. You decide to call the pit boss over and ask for a table change. He puts you on a list...again. Now how do you know if your new table will be any different?

Let's rewind for a moment. What you know for sure about yourself today is that you are not in the mood for a crazy game. When you first arrived you realized there was a list and you would have to wait. That was a great opportunity.

When you first arrive and sign up to play at any casino you will have some time to survey the lay of the land. This is where you should be checking out the tables to see who your opponents are likely to be. If you see that all the tables are crazy and you definitely don't want to play crazy, it is probably a good day not to sit down. If you don't take the time to survey the tables and sit down in a crazy game, while you sit there waiting for a new table to become available it will cost you. Especially if you get sucked into a hand. After spending all that time waiting, you go and sit down at your new table only to find out they are crazy too. Now you may just get up and call it a day. That would be the right thing to do. Or, you may talk yourself into staying and trying to play your best possible game since you are already there and you waited so long to be seated etc.

It doesn't cost you anything when you first arrive to have a look around and determine how the games are going. If you don't like the looks of tables, or more importantly, if the games going don't appear to provide you with an edge, then don't sit down. Don't let it bother you that you arrived at the casino with the intention of playing. This is your bankroll we are talking about and you have to be smart about it. Don't put your money into any game if you don't think your advantage is in place. This is a good time to also start developing a relationship with the pit bosses who run the poker pit. If you find a game that you like, let them know which table you would prefer to sit down at. That way when your name comes up, they can hold off for you until a seat opens up at that table. If the casino you play at won't let you do that, just have them roll your name until a table comes up that you like. If it doesn't you haven't lost a cent.

Remember, game selection is very important while you are building a bankroll and developing your game. It can make a big difference as to how your day will go. The last thing you want to do is sit down at a table that causes you to play way off your game. Be prepared to be selective when you show up. You only want to play in games where you have an edge. Taking time to study the play of others while you are not at the table will also give you valuable information that you can use when you do decide to sit down. There will always be a few critical things in poker that you can't control. You had better take advantage of those things that you can. Game selection will always be up to you and good choices mean good money in the long run.