“Look around the table and try to find the sucker. If you can’t find the sucker, get up, because you are the sucker.” – “Amarillo Slim” Preston

 

Very wise words by a legendary poker player that evoke an essential prerequisite to playing a single hand of poker – table selection.  What Amarillo Slim was trying to say is that poker is a game of taking advantage of the mistakes and weaknesses of others.  If you are the weakest player at the table, you will be outplayed hand after hand until you finally bust out. 

While in some situations where you don’t have the ability to select your table, such as when you are playing in a tournament or when you are randomly assigned to any free table in a casino, picking the table you sit at can make the difference between a winning day and a losing day.  Especially online, where there are an endless number of tables to choose from, it is important to use a number of various signs that can indicate if you are selecting the right table.

Before sitting down at a poker table, it’s good to first look at the average pot size of the table in relation to the size of the blinds.  Usually, the larger the pots, the more aggressive or loose the play is at that table and vice versa for smaller than average pots.

Next, take a look at the chip stacks of the players at the table.  Are there a lot of players with much larger than the buy in at the poker table?  Many times, this could be an indication that there are experienced players at the table and you may want to stay away or be wary of going up against that player.  Depending on your own skill level, you may view 1 or 2 players with a large amount of chips as an opportunity to steal away their chips, but use caution.  Furthermore, if there are 1 or 2 large stacks with 1 or 2 very small stacks, it may be safe to assume that the player with the big stack just won a big hand at the expense of the small stack.  If a majority of the chip stacks are small, it may mean that they are all cautious players or that a shark just left the table, but regardless of this, it may be wise to leave as the table may not provide enough reward for the time you put into it.

 

Still, before taking your seat, see a few hands play out to get a feel for the players at the table.  Ask yourself a few questions:

Are multiple players limping in? 

If so, this can show loose play with weak poker hands.

Are players coming in with weak hands outside the blinds?

If so, this can be a sign of loose play.

Are players limping in or making minimum bets with strong hands?

If so, this can allow you to come into a hand and see the flop cheap.

What is the standard bet at the table?

Typically, a standard bet would be 4 times the big blind, but at some tables, you may face many wild players that will always call a standard bet with garbage hands.  This is a sign of an aggressive and loose table.

Can you tell who the weak and strong players are?
This will help when deciding where to sit and how to play against each player.

These are just a few questions that you should ask yourself before selecting a table and can give you a representation of what you will expect when you do play.  Also, the information you have about the table can dictate what style of play you will use at the table. 

The quality of the table can’t be determined in just a few hands, but following the above will help you increase your odds of sitting down at a table you can beat.  If after you sit down and see more hands, the table turns out to be very tough to play against, don’t be afraid to cut your losses at the blinds to find a new table.  Also keep in mind that players will come and go, but once you get a feel for the general table, it will be easier to learn one player than all ten.  Again, if new players come in to make the table much more difficult to beat, make the decision to either not play against those players or to stand up and find a new table. 

Table selection is more difficult if you are playing in a casino.  However, if you start playing and decide you don’t like your current table, you can always put your name back on the list and can take the next available seat at a new table. 
   

Beginner's Tip

 

“Beginners should try to stay away from tables that have less than 8 people at them until they are comfortable playing.  The more players at the table, the longer it takes the blinds to move around the table and the longer you can stay out of the action waiting for a premium hand.”