A brief guide to 10 tabling

Online poker is rigged. Why would anyone vote for Phil over Bill?

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This experiment of playing 10 tables at a time of .10/.25 no limit is a lot of fun. I'm playing all my normal games as well, but these no limit games provide easy money without much effort.

I play a simple, straightforward strategy in these games. Because the action moves quickly, I make decisions quickly. While I may not make the very best decisions that I could make because I have to move quickly, I mostly rely on my opponents to make bad decisions in order for me to make money.

I've played two hours a day of NL25 for the last three days, and I'm still averaging more than $50 an hour. That's not bad, especially considering that it's a nearly no-risk proposition. I'm not going to have many losing days at this level, and when I do, the losses will be minimal. I'm getting in so many hands and playing against so many bad players that it's unlikely any five or 10 bad beats will hurt me much compared to the number of hands that pay off against these fish.

Here's what I do:

_Pot bomb. If I have top pair or better, I will usually bet the pot on the flop. If I get it heads-up to fourth street, I'll usually fire a half-pot bet or pot bet, depending on the strength of my hand. If I'm raised or am cold called by an otherwise aggressive player, sometimes I will simply check-fold. Which brings me to my next point.

_Fold to almost any aggression unless I hold a strong hand. While it's difficult to put bad players on a specific hand, they usually bet in proportion to how good they think their hands are. It's easy and economical to simply fold rather than try to outplay bad players who are trying to send you a message with their big bets. Getting bluffed out simply isn't a big worry.

_Often check-raise top pair hands from early position. If you like your kicker and are up against one or two opponents, bet it out.

_Bet out any hand two pair or better. Bet out big draws.

_Bet in integer amounts. It's much faster than trying to type in cents, and it doesn't make much of a difference.

_Don't worry about how hands turn out. Just move on to the next table.

_Don't bluff except on continuation bets on the flop, or when you have outs and are in position. Bluffing is a terrible idea against calling stations. Don't do it.

_Complete liberally from the small blind.

_Limp with any pocket pair. Only call a normal raise preflop if at least one other player is also in the hand.

As much fun as it is to bang my head against the limit wall, a balanced approach will pad my bankroll.

It's like investing. I want to have a diversified portfolio. Today I played NL 1/2, NL25, 5/10 limit and 10/20 limit. I didn't win in all of those games, but I came out $200 ahead because I won in some of them. Sure, it's not a big score on a one-day basis. But it's a great score if it's consistently repeatable by always playing games that I have an excellent chance of coming out ahead in.

Up tomorrow: back to the blackjack bonuses.