The more forum postings you read the more you will read about poker players multi-tabling a dozen or more poker sit and go’s or cash games in order to play thousands of hands everyday. My personal experience in multi-tabling was normal non-turbo sit and go tournaments where I managed four tables before going a little crazy with the non-stop action. Now I am not a grinder so it is not essential for me to have all the kit on my office desk, but for those of you who want to be set up like a pro ready for the grinding lifestyle then read carefully because this is what you will need.

The first thing that you need is a place to play poker. This should be some desk space out of the sunlight where the sun is not directly behind you or in front of you. A bedroom is ideal as it gives you a place to go that is not going to be distracted by TV or family visitors. When you are playing poker you need maximum comfort and maximum concentration so getting the actual location of your hardware is just as important as the hardware itself.

Next we need the monitor. Most players are now using large monitors with the capability of playing multiple tables without losing any of the tables from your field of vision. A 24 inch monitor will be able to tile three rows of four tables easily without them appearing too small. I could not play more than four tables due to the fact four was all I could fit on screen and I felt disorientated with other tables popping up over each other. Having one large screen will allow you to keep an eye on all of the tables for premium starting hands and folding the trash hands quickly. Particularly important also is the layout of the cards on the tables. You can go into the layout and remove avatars and make the backgrounds neutral. This helps your computer process the tables and reduces the likelihood of a system crash. Having the cards in a four colour deck makes it easier to spot the cards suit whilst scanning the tables.

If you are playing twelve tables for three to four hours per day you will be playing one million hands or thereabouts across the year. A new mouse is available called an ergonomic mouse which is actually more like a joystick than normal mouse. It is scientifically proven to reduce stress on fingers and will help you avoid repetitive strain wear and tear on your mouse hand. Sounds a bit over the top but everything to help you is worth considering and playing one million hands per year as well as other computer usage is millions of clicks which could cause problems even if you are really healthy.

In setting up his poker set-up a player called James Atkin decided to purchase 30 metres of Ethernet cable to hard wire his internet connection. Whilst he uses wireless broadband he felt more secure when knowing the computer was connected to help avoid connection losses. This may be worth considering if your computer is further than a few metres away from your router. You may also like to have another computer or laptop running alongside your main computer where your statistics through poker office or poker tracker are on display so that you can easily check your hand histories and session results.

The last thing to consider is your actual chair. If you are going to sit for long periods it is vital that you avoid back injury by having a comfortable chair. You risk abscesses and other unpleasant things if you do not make sure you are sitting comfortably. I would not recommend a gaming chair as they are not designed for poker. Something soft to sit in but not too comfortable so you fall asleep! Once you have all of these things in place you will be able to grind with the best advantages possible as most players will simply make do with their current set-up so you immediately have an advantage at the tables before the hands are even dealt.

By Malcolm Clarke