If you’ve been playing poker successfully for the past few years then surely you must know by now that there’s nowhere in the world that can match the money you can make per hour at an online table.

The reason for this is simple. In a land casino you’re pretty much committed to playing one hand at one table. Playing multiple tables at a land casino is not only impossible (unless you can turn your poker game into a game of musical chairs), it’s also not allowed.

In an online poker room, however, you can play as many tables as your computer can handle. If you average about $50 an hour at one table you could bump that up to $200 per hour if you can maintain the same level of play at four tables. (Word to the unwise though: You can just as easily lose four times your regular amount if your average result at one table is losing $25 per hour.)

But before you get lured into the idea of being able to make more money by playing at more tables, take a realistic look at evaluating how good a poker player you really are. While you may be constantly winning while playing at a single table (and are confident your game can handle the next level), playing two tables a try may be your next step in the process. Once again: exercise patience.

Then again, if you’re okay with playing multiple tables and walking away holding only some of the chips you started off with, then playing multiple tables is only going to gut your stack even faster. And that’s not a good strategy to employ.

Here’s what you need in order to play well on multiple tables: Excellent concentration, good decision-making skills and plain old good poker skills. Since you’ll be flipping back and forth between tables you’ll have less time to study other players, your own cards and the boards, and every decision you make will have to be done faster. Because of this you may want to avoid playing No Limit tables during multiple table play. Successful No Limit play usually takes more skill and knowledge of the other players than Limit Poker. In Limit Poker if you stick with the correct odds and play tight, consistent poker you’ll be able to conquer multi-table play.

Oh and one last tip: When playing multiple tables, turn off the sound on your computer. That annoying buzz that tells you it’s your turn to play when you’re busy at another table can grate on your nerves after awhile.