05-10-05, LearnTexasHoldem:

9 vs 10 Seat Tables

Question: In limit ($3/$6) online poker, what, if any, are the advantages and disadvantages, to the players, of a 9 seat vs. a 10 seat table? I did read the question from 1/25/05, asked from the houses view. Would it be something of an extension from playing at a six seated table (question from 1/26/05)?

Thank you

Thomas

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

Answer: As a general rule, the more people who are dealt hands, the greater chance there is for a big hand to be out; not only a big hand in the hole cards, but also a big hand on the flop. Short handed holdem (when there are 5 or less people at a table) is very different compared to regular full table holdem. With less people in, any piece of the flop you hit is worth much more, which is why the games are more aggressive and volatile.

I'm not sure if you would be able to notice the difference between a 9 and 10 person table, but if you did stats over a huge amount of hands, I'm sure it would show that the 10 person table dealt more good hands than the 9 did. Practically what this means is that the game with 10 people dealt in will have more big hands, like AA preflop. Now, for offline play, the main difference between a 9 and 10 person table when we are talking about player seats is space. Having a full table of 9 people is usually already pretty uncomfortable for those of us who are tall, let alone a 10 person one.

Let me generalize this question a bit more so I can mention something very important to winning. I think the most valuable tool for a holdem player to develop is the ability to gauge his hand's strength relative to how many people are in preflop. Notice I didn't mention position at all. Position is only valuable since it allows us to see more information before we make our decision so we can gauge the hand's strength better. For example, if I have 86spades on the button in a tight aggressive $30/60 game, I'll have all the information I need before I make my call (hopefully have over 4 people in already).

On the other hand if I am under the gun or in early position, I won't know how the hand will develop so I'll have to rely on my memory of previous hands to guess if it is worth playing. So I encourage everyone to try to get a feel for what works in heads up or threeway pots and what works in volume pots. Play more short handed poker and heads up poker with your friends and it will help out.

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