Dealing with a table change

[Gobbatino]

Hello again,
I'm interested to know how you guys deal with table changes. At the moment I'm finding it to be one of my weaknesses. I spend a few hours at a table and have reads on nearly everyone, I know how to react to each player and generally play the players. Then I get changed around midgame and suddenly I feel lost. I don't know the players, how they play, whether they are stealing or have a legit hand, etc, etc.

For instance, last night I was playing the 34k guarantee on FT. Things were going well, I was chip leader at my table and had a good feel on nearly all the players. Around 2 hours and a half in I get changed to another table but I didn't adjust my strategy. One bad beat and a really bad play later (mostly because I didn't have a read on the player) and I was out.

How do you guys deal with this? Do you chill back for a few orbits to get some reads on players? Go aggressive to set an image? Go tight to set an image? Does it depend on your stack?

I'd really appreciate some input/ideas. Thanks!

[Luco]

This is something that only comes with practice. Eventually you will have table changed so many times that you just get used to it.

There's no shame in sitting back for an orbit while you get your reads together, but don't be afraid to go for a steal when you first sit down (remember, they don't know you either). To simplify and speed up your reads, just look for the essential information:
- Who will give up their blinds to a steal
- Who will c/f a flop after raising pre (honest players)
- Who's driving the action / playing too many hands

I remember my first ever MTT table change. I was like 'wtf just happened', then 'shit, gotta get all my reads together again', then I got AKo on the third hand and got my chips in, the guy to my immediate left had AA. Busto. Happy days.

[Gobbatino]

I remember my first ever MTT table change. I was like 'wtf just happened', then 'shit, gotta get all my reads together again', then I got AKo on the third hand and got my chips in, the guy to my immediate left had AA. Busto. Happy days.

Pretty much what happened, except I was up vs KK. On retrospect a 3bet reraise without going all in would have been much better so I think it was a bad play either way, especially with a good M zone and well over average chip stack. No idea what I was thinking, but it got me thinking about how table changes affect my play.

[Fjaman]

i dont focuse to much on reads until the final tables of a mtt because of the moving around part at the early stage of the game, instead i play more tournaments at the same time.