I haven't noticed yet if the time of day matters much.

Generally, I'm with Eric (playing NL $25), i.e., 8 or 9 players with avg pot sizes of $15 or more. But I also like to see at least half of the table having less than $25 or $20. This could mean these players have been losing (possibly because they are poor players). On the flipside, I also don't like to enter tables where there is even one player with a LOT of money, i.e., $80 or more. With their tall stacks, a lot of these (presumably good) players tend to bully around and try to put you all-in often.

Additionally, I also don't like when ALL players at the table are above $25 -- even by a little. This could indicate that the suckers have already left the table.

I don't always find tables that meet all this criteria, but these are what I look for first.


On occasion, I'll play short-handed tables (2 or 3 players) just to practice playing short-handed and practice for home game tournaments.