[Texas72]

Playing 8 tables is actually not that uncommon. Most online "pros" or other serious online players will play that amount at a minimum. I have a friend who usually plays 15-20 at a time. The reason for playing so many is that it boosts your per hour win rate. You're clearing out what would be a days worth of SnGs (if you were to play them individually) in the time it takes to play one. For someone who is playing to make their income, that's a huge advantage.

What most people do, and something you might want to consider, spresso, is to "stack" the tables. Most sites will force the table requring action to the forefront, so you can open up as many SnGs, tables, etc. as you want and then "stack" the windows on top of each other. As your action is needed on a table, it pops up to the front.

Yes, it's hard (but not impossible) to get a read on the other players when you play this way. But most people who multi-table like this are using some sort of tracking software (like spresso is) and can go thru the hands afterwards, and make their player notes then. Then you import them to the site and they're always where you want them. Also remember that having a read on your opponent isn't always a big deal - it's mainly helpful when you're playing against someone who is intelligent, thinking/playing at least on level 3, and is paying attention to everyone else at the table themselves. Those kinds of players are awfully rare online. You can easily just sit back and play a tight agressive game, focusing mainly on your cards and not trying to pull fancy moves on other players, and routinely finish ITM in SnGs.

And spresso, I quit using GT+ many months ago, so I can't really offer you any advice about using heads-up displays while multi-tabling except to say that many people have problems with the displays. I used to use GT+ when I was two-tabling ring games and didn't have much problems, but anything more than that and it got a bit hairy. Might want to check the PA forums and see if there is any advice there.