Finding the best table to play at is a skill in itself. Normally, table selection doesn’t come into play if you`re accustomed to playing in anything but big casinos, where you might be able to select your table. Most of the time however, the floorman directs you to a table to be seated at and that’s it. Internet poker is very different in this aspect, because you can come and go as you choose.

If too many sharks sit at your table, no problem, get up and go. If too many people are drawing on you, same thing - leave. Nothing keeps you at a table except for your own will to continue.

Poker can`t stress enough that if you are losing at a table, it`s time to go. Even if you know you are better than the rest of the players at the table, when you no longer have table image, you can no longer play at the top of your game.

When selecting a table, the biggest thing to notice of course is the average pot size listed for the table. Most people automatically select the table with the biggest average pot, but this is usually the wrong move.

Example: In a rowdy 3/6 game with 10 players, the average pot is shown to be $80 while the other 3/6 tables show average pots around the $45 range. It`s true that the $80 table will be getting the most action, but that is a double-edged sword.

In the arsenal of the strong player, bluffing and deception are two main weapons. On purely theoretical odds, you should only win your fair share of hands. So in a ten person game, if everyone plays each hand and calls to the river, you should win 1 out of 10 hands.

If poker was played this way, no one would play poker because no one would ever win money. In order to win then, you must win more than your fair share of cards. However, if everyone draws to the river, this will be impossible to do in the long run because only the best hand wins.

To win 1 out of 9 times, you need to win with the non-best hands- which means other people need to fold what would have been the winning hands. In a heavy action game with people drawing with everything, it really does come down to a 1/10 game, because many of your opponents will simply not fold.