Finding the Right Table

If you mostly play tournament poker, then you won’t have much say in who you play against. Everyone starts playing at the same time, and you can’t leave until you either win or bust out.

Cash games, on the other hand, are a bit different. Since they don’t have a predefined beginning or end, players can come and go as they please. You can always get up and find a new table.

In this article, we’re going to talk about finding the right table for you. Ultimately, it comes down to your goals and objectives. Do you want to improve, or do you want to win chips? There is a time for both, and picking the best table for that time will help you to achieve satisfaction in poker.

The Hard Table

If you want to become a better poker player, you need to do more than set goals and study the game. You need to play against opponents who will challenge you.

When we play against superior opponents, we have so much to learn. They will exploit our weaknesses. Recognizing this helps us to identify those spots and then plug those leaks in the future. They will make plays that we weren’t expecting, and we can take it in, study it, and use their example to improve.

Think about playing the hard table like paying tuition. You’re probably going to lose some chips, but if your goal is to be the best poker player that you can be, then you need to accept those losses as a fee for improvement.

The Easy Table

There are other times when we just want to take it easy, push around some fish, and make some winnings. That’s when we head over to the easy table.

These soft games are the best place to practice your fundamentals and work on technique. They provide an opportunity to learn new concepts in a low-risk environment.

Plus, they might also just make you happy. Let’s be real—everyone loves winning. We can only stand playing at the hard table for so long before we want to call it quits. Playing at the easy table gives us that ego boost that we need to keep grinding.

No matter what table you sit down at, remember to look around and assess your opponents. And don’t forget these wise words: if you can spot the sucker within your first half hour at the table, then you’re it!