Many poker players recommend multi-tabling as a way to make the most of your time playing poker, especially when you’re playing online poker. But what is multi-tabling, and is it a good idea for everyone? 

Join us as we explain what multi-tabling is, its advantages and disadvantages and whether it’s a poker practice that you should consider adopting.

What Is Multi-Tabling?

In a typical game of online poker, up to eight competitors sit at a single virtual table to compete for the pot. However, if you think you have the skill, you can play at multiple tables at once in online poker games. 

There are a variety of pros and cons to this style of online poker play.

The Advantages of Multi-Tabling

Let’s take a look at the benefits of this way of playing and why people do it::

• It’s a strategy that can be used to potentially boost your winnings. It’s quite simple. Since you are playing more games, multi-tabling gives you the chance to increase your potential winnings.
  
• It helps you control for variance. Playing at a single table means you only have one opportunity to win and must play another game to make up for variance in a game of poker. Playing at multiple tables allows you to better manage the way variance affects your games in the long run.
  
• It’s more exciting than a single table. When playing at only one table, there are times when another player may max out their time making a decision. This is quite boring when it’s just one person, but if you’re at a table with more players, the “downtime” and boredom of waiting around quickly stack up. However, you don’t have to worry about this when multi-tabling as there’s always something going on at one of your tables.
  
• It optimizes your time. This is because you are constantly playing instead of waiting your turn at a single table, which means you can potentially increase your wins.
  

The Disadvantages of Multi-Tabling

While multi-tabling offers many advantages, there are also downsides to consider:

• It requires greater levels of concentration. If you are unable to maintain your focus across multiple games, this strategy could backfire and actually cause you to lose money in the long run.
  
• Even though you can win more, you can also lose more. You know what’s worse than a bad run at one poker table? Multiple bad runs at multiple poker tables. That’s right, even if you’re playing well, sometimes a run of bad luck can hit you at more than one table. Your risk is also increased by the fact that you have less time to make a decision at each table since you are managing multiple hands, which could also result in more miss-clicks and timeouts if you’re not careful. All these additional pressures could lead to a player going on tilt.
  
• It becomes even harder to read your opponents. It’s already harder to read your opposition in online poker, but this difficulty is multiplied when you play at more than one table.
  
• More tables and focus means less energy to play over longer periods of time. When you’re playing to win at multiple tables, you’ll need to put more energy into your play than is required when you play a single game. This means that you are more likely to tire out quicker, even if you focus on developing your stamina. 

Multi-Tabling Tips

If you want to try multi-tabling in poker, make sure you take advantage of these tips:

Make Sure Your Poker Skills Are up to Scratch

It goes without saying that you should have a reasonable grasp of poker before you decide to get serious about multi-table play. If you’re new to the game or are still losing more than you’re winning, you should take the time to build up your foundational poker knowledge and skills before you dive into multi-tabling, even if it does offer potentially greater wins.

Manage Your Poker Table Layout

When you multi-table in online poker, most online poker clients will give you the option to tile or stack each of your poker table windows so that you can interact with them as you please. The most important thing to remember when managing your poker table layout is that all the information should be easily accessible to you when you play. The two factors that will affect this are the number of tables you play at as well as the size and resolution of your screen. 

For example, a tiled layout on a small, low-resolution screen means you’ll likely be unable to view all the information you need in order to win. In this situation, you should rather go for a stacked layout. However, if you have a large high-resolution screen, you can safely tile many tables next to each other and still see everything you need to.

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to assess which layout works for you with your online poker setup.

Try the Four-Color Deck Setting

Instead of the traditional two-color deck setup, you can set your poker game so that each suit has its own color. This makes it easier to see at a glance what cards you have, which is very important when you’re multi-tabling.

Take Advantage of Hotkeys

If you’re playing on a laptop or desktop computer, many poker clients offer a hotkeys feature. Hotkeys are keys that are assigned to important actions so that you can act on decisions quickly. For example, instead of having to move your mouse and click on the fold button, you can simply tap a single key on your keyboard. This can help you save time which is an important resource when you’re playing multiple tables.

Start With the Low-Limit Tables

Even if you’re doing incredibly well playing single-table poker games, you should start by playing at multiple low-limit poker tables while you get used to the dynamics of multi-tabling before you join in some high-stakes games.

Should I Try Multi-Tabling?

While multi-tabling may sound like a great idea, it’s definitely not a poker practice that everyone should use. If you’re an online poker player who is winning more than you’re losing, then it may be time to dip your toes into the multi-table arena. However, if you’re struggling to win more than you lose when playing at a single table, you should stay away from multi-tabling until you can grow your bankroll playing at a single table.

Play Poker Online at Betmgm

Whether you have the skills and want to take part in multi-tabling poker tournaments, or you just want to find a good old-fashioned single-table online poker game, you can find what you’re looking for at BetMGM. From Texas Hold’em to Omaha to Seven Card Stud, we have many exciting variants to suit a range of tastes. 

And if you want to take a break from poker, you can also use the same online poker account to enjoy many other thrilling online casino games, including blackjack, roulette, slots and more.

To join in the fun at all the tables and slot machines, all you need to do is register at BetMGM.