One thing I’ve learned over the years is that online grinders tend to be very loyal to their setup when playing, and yet always dream of a more baller setup. One day I hope to have two 30” monitors, but for now my high resolution dual 24” monitors offer me enough space to tile 20 tables and be able to actually see all of them. When I max out at 25 tables, that means some of the tables overlap—hence why I dream of two 30” monitors!
To my complaints I imagine someone is thinking “Why not just cascade tables or stack them on top of eachother?” While this method works well for some, I do not like it for myself. I find that the way I remember things is spatially—i.e. I can remember that a donk just shoved 15BBs UTG and showed down 87o by remembering something like “Upper left table with eye avatar = maniac.” While I do play with a Hold ‘em Manager HUD running, it is an advantage to recall recent hands of opponents—especially those players that I don’t have many hands with yet. Tiling also allows me to take the occasional note on a player, as I always try to mark an opponent that I notice folding in spots where he is getting the pot odds to make it a call with any two cards.
In terms of the other aspects of what I have around me when I play, I always play with my pink TI-84 calculator right in front of me. While I do estimate a lot of pot odds and immediate profit calculations while I play, I do use my calculator every lengthy session that I play—often to calculate the ante-adjusted big blind. I also love having fresh flowers by me when I play—to remind me that the outdoors do exist, contrary to how I may feel after a 12 hour grind!
I also consider my music to be part of my set-up. Crazy as it may sound I have a specific playlist for grinding, which includes an electic mix singles and The Killers, The Cure, Aerosmith, Eminem, Weezer, and Queen. I’ve noticed a correlation between playing more tables and having my music on louder—so 25-tabling places a definite strain on not only my vision but also my hearing!
Other things in the pic:
-Collage of pictures with my sisters that my older sister Lisa gave me for high school graduation
-Money tree
-Pink heart coach mousepad
-Herman Miller chair
Tags: hotjenny314, poker
And often a black-and-white cat sprawled out across the desk … and Wilbur trying his best to fit under the desk!
Nice set-up! I prefer tiling tables for much the same reason – even though I don’t play as many as you do.