Any rating of the level of competition to be expected at an online poker site will necessarily depend on the ability of the rater. While a professional player may think the general skill level at a particular site is low, a beginner may think just the opposite.
How, then, can we rate a room without knowing our own skill level exactly?
There is a generally accepted method for rating the softness of the opposition to be expected at a particular table. The method is simple enough, and it is this; when you are in a sites lobby with the list of the active tables, look for the viewed flop percentage. A high number here indicates a loose table, and a low number means more skilled players.
This number may be referred to also as Players/Flop.
Have a look at this screen-shot from the lobby of LuvinPoker. In the list of active tables you can see the column second from the right called Plrs/Flop. The first 10 player table has a viewed flop percentage of 40% which is not high, but not very low either.
A low percentage here would be less than 30%. That would be a very tight table.
There are a couple of things to note about this method. In a heads up game the viewed flop percentage with necessarily be higher than in a full 10 handed ring game. Accordingly a six handed game should have slightly higher percentages, and a table that has less than the maximum number of players will also have a higher than normal percentage.