Increasing Tables to Reduce Variance

Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 17 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

Arguably the hardest thing to deal with when playing poker is the variance involved. Poker is a game where even the best players can have extended losing streaks over quite large numbers of games, and the mental frustration of this can reduce all but the most battle hardened pros to tears.

One of the best ways to try and help reduce the variance in poker is to increase the number of tables and games you play. If you play multi table tournaments this involves trying to play a more exhaustive schedule of games, if you play sit and goes or cash it simply means firing up more tables at the relevant stakes.

By increasing the number of games you play, you increase the number of hands you see, which increases the sample size available, and this reduces the overall volatility and variance involved in the short term. So far, so good - just go and fire up every available game and watch the money roll in? Well - alas - not quite. The main problem with firing up hundreds of tables is that the more you play, the less observant you can be, and the more your skill edge in any game starts to be reduced.

Although reducing variance is definitely something to be considered and aspired too, it should never be at the expense of profitability. Fire up more games than you can cope with and variance will be the least of your problems - you will simply not be profitable in any of the games and will be in an endless downswing regardless of your luck. Learning the number of tables that you can play adequately at the same time will help you find your own personal optimum line, with the result that your sanity and bankroll are kept considerably safer.

Reducing variance in this way also has one other key benefit - it increases profitability. As long as you are still profitable in the games that you are playing, each and every extra hand and game that you play will be making you extra money over the long run, and this can greatly increase the amount of money you are making at the end of the year.

Playing more tables really is a win win situation, in that it both makes downswings shorter as well as making you more money - as long as you don't take it to such an extreme that you cease to be profitable in the games. Find how many tables you can keep on top of, fire up as many games as possible, and help preserve your sanity as well as make a lot more money over the year.

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