Benefits and Drawbacks of Table Selection

Obviously we’re looking to make more money selecting our opponents and if we do this successfully, then a higher ROI will follow. This increased success will also pad our Sharkscope stats so that it we are mixing in sitting first, it becomes more likely that we’ll get a higher percentage of fish, as the better players will be more likely to avoid us. Also, since our winning percentage will be higher, we’ll reduce our variance, as the frequency and magnitude of losing streaks will be reduced. We can also more comfortably play higher stakes, since we’re in control here and won’t be subject to players sitting with us that we may not want to play. Also, if the waiting period sitting in tends to be longer, this can get us more matches potentially, provided that there are acceptable opponents available, further increasing our profit per hour.

The biggest one is the risk of putting ourselves in inferior situations relative to sitting first, which include both running into tougher players and making mistakes in our selection. There’s also the risk of having juicy players available but not getting to play them if someone else beats us to the punch while we’re making our decision. This is a particular concern if there’s a waiting list for the next available table, where you’re up against players who aren’t selecting at all. As well, if you’re always looking for the weakest players, you may not be challenged enough and your development may suffer. However, you may see this choosing a more gradual path of improvement as being acceptable if you need to manage your risk more closely due to bankroll considerations. You may also end up playing less matches per hour than if sitting first, as selection takes time, although this isn’t necessarily the case.

Proper game selection is something that we always want to consider doing, with a focus on looking to increase our advantages. This ultimately will have us looking to increase our win rate per hour over what can be achieved by simply sitting in, and in the end the numbers will tell the story in terms of what particular game selection strategy will work out the best for us. It’s mostly just a matter of exercising good judgment though and making sure we’re always looking to put ourselves in the best position relative to our goals, which include both making money and looking to improve our game.

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