Poker will always be a series game, as it is in most sports. One day you will be unbeatable, and the next day you will fall from a force far beyond anything you could have imagined. These series are of course subject to different variables, which can modify them and which can lead to very high or very low peaks as well as periods of stability or constant progression. And one of these variables is table change. It is not normally in online tournaments that the player is allowed to choose when and how to make these changes, but rather in gambling.
In many tournaments, the changes are usually managed by the organizers and are therefore not under the control of the player. The objective in these cases will be to do everything to survive until change occurs. Of course, it is on the cash games that we are going to dwell, because this is where the possibility of changing tables takes on all its importance while it could appear as an insignificant detail for players new to the world of poker. . But it is nevertheless a key element that can make the difference between a resounding victory and a worrying defeat.
In these game modes where changes are allowed, you can play as long as you want, with the possibility of joining a new table at any time but also of leaving it as soon as you want.
Given all of these considerations, the main piece of advice to keep in mind is that staying on a table will always be beneficial if you are the favorite. It doesn’t make much sense to leave when we feel in a strong position and are able to dominate the rest of the players in most situations. But if the one who makes a game that will change everything, both from your point of view and your opponents, happens and danger now reigns over your chips, then it’s time to leave to see what it happens on other tables. But between these changes, each player must make the most of their momentum.
There are also players who set a goal of earnings and leave as soon as they reach it, regardless of their situation around the table. It is true that this is not a bad strategy, because it is a very organized way of doing things where we treat this game as a real serious work. But of course, the risk of missing out on easy wins of chips or cash will be great, especially if one is chip leader For example. To withdraw at such a moment is an admission of weakness on the part of a player who only wants to know the satisfaction of the present moment, but who will repent the next day for having missed such an opportunity. If you decide to change tables, it must be for a compelling reason.
There is another type of player who prefers to impose a limit on their losses. Once they have crossed this red line, they decide that the time to leave has come to look elsewhere, hoping that playing around a new table will allow them to enter a new, more virtuous cycle. It should not be forgotten, however, that the best way to have detailed statistics on your poker performance is to accumulate hours and hours of play. If you are always changing tables, it will be difficult to find diagrams that could help you. to improve your style of play. This is why we insist on the compelling reason for any change of table. Any other reason would be an error.
And obviously, what we must have clearly in mind is that the moment we enter a degraded mental state (anger, frustration, dejection, …), we will have to abandon the table. And not only the table, but probably the whole game too. This is fundamental and one of the best ways to stay healthy while playing poker. The moment you feel like you’re tilting or start playing hands you shouldn’t, then it’s time to take a break, until the next day if possible. A table change is always a new start, especially from a mental point of view, but depending on the power of the blow received on the previous table, this start could be beneficial or even more detrimental.
And another factor that must also be taken into account is categorization of players. Any arrival on a table must be followed by a study of his rivals during the first rounds of play. If you spot the presence of an easy prey around the table, then it will be better to stay because you never know what on what you will come across on the next table. But if the prey ever leaves and you find yourself surrounded by good players or real sharks, then it will be better to leave immediately.
By combining all these techniques, you will be able to make a good analysis of the table and your situation and thus know if it is better for you to make a change or to stay here waiting for the perfect table for you.
