How To Win (against Really Bad Opponents)

[silicon 0]

I have been an occasional poster and long time member of this forum and have come to realize that most of the people here have a pretty good grasp on the fundementals of the game. I venture that one would be hard pressed to find too many FCPer's that haven't at least skimmed HOH and SuperSystem and in fact I expect that many of you have read every book ever written on poker.This is not true for the population at large.I find myself playing in an underground game once or twice a week. There is a rotating cast of characters, probably 30 strong, of which one or two may have cracked a book with one or two others having an obvious flare for the game. The rest are just there to have fun and don't seem to mind dropping a few hundred bucks for the priviledge. With our house rules pre flop play is quite restricted (there is no all in pre flop and a maximum of a $60 raise) so the onus is on good post flop play. Having tracked my play for the last 15 months (running at $26 and change per hour over 900+ hours) I feel confident that I have a definite edge against my competition and that my edge is expanding as I improve my game. There have been a few eureka moments over this period and at the risk of being flamed mercilessly I thought I would share some of my thoughts and hopefully provoke a little discussion. I will focus on one point for this post and if there is any interest will do more in the future.We occassionally get new players to the game. One of the things they like to do is bluff at pots. If there is one thing I have learned about facing bad players; it is to radically reduce your bluffing attempts. In a typical 8 hour game of 200+ hands we will probably only have 20 hands that are not played to showdown. It is normal to have people call with A high so bluffing at pots is definately a poor play. That being said a new player, educated by the WPT, is usually in love with the idea of taking down a pot with nothing. So how to read when the new player is bluffing. Discounting for a minute the fact that the new player often has no idea of the true strength (or lack of it) of their hand, there is one tell I have found that is very reliable. Almost without fail the new player will check or only bet a small amount with a monster hand. I have yet to see a new player bet out aggressively after flopping a set, TPTK or even bottom two pair. What they will do is bet a lot with nothing. If fact there seems to be an inverse relationship between hand strength and bet size among the newcomers. I will often call a very large bet on the river from a new player with second pair, especially if they have been betting on every street (I tend to have much more respect for a new player who has checked or called the flop and turn and who then leads out with a big bet on the river). In the vast majority of the cases that I have experienced, a new player who has bet on every street usually has two overcards, fell in love with the hand pre flop, and just can't get used to the idea that there AQo isn't going to win this pot.Next time - if there is interest - I will cover how a bad player views pot odds.

[Mercury69 3]

This may be better off in the Strat section, but it's a good addition. Thanks.

[Jeepster80125 0]

This may be better off in the Strat section, but it's a good addition. Thanks.

[threeparrots 0]

I've found that if I'm ever put to a tough decision (for a lot of chips, of course) that if you simply wait a minute or so before deciding, even if you "think" you know what your action will be, the tells come flying out of the inexperienced player. Case in point, the leg shake. This one almost without fail will appear after a minute of waiting after he/she places a large bet with weak holdings.And the old tells still hold true. Big bet followed by an inability to look at you, even if you're talking to him will mean MONSTER. If he looks at you menacingly then heck, you might as well raise. All this is especially true for casino poker.

[joethepro 0]

i'm scared of bad opponents sometimes haha, so i just play short stacked and just standard play. no thinking at all necessary.i liked your advice, hope to hear more.

[LincolnK 1]

thanks for sharing. it always helps to know the experiences of others. anything else to share?

[Edcoach 0]

Silicon, very informative post, hope youll continue. I agree with what youre saying, especially live in a casino. Last Sat night, for instance, I have AJs. Maniac older man raises $20, everyone folds except me, and Im in the big blind. I call and the flop comes J and xs, xs (2 spades). He bets $45 and I call. The turn, a spade, I have the nut flush. I check knowing exactly what he has (AK to AQ at best) and the river is a 7 pairing the board. I push all in for $45 more and he turns over AQo. No pair, no draw, nada. It also seems like the newbies when they hit the monster check the flop, turn etc. Thats when I check behind instantly.I have been playing my hands the opposite against the fish. If I flop trips or tptk I bet out. They instantly think, "he has nothing or hed check, like I do when Im strong." This seems to create monster pots at times and really throws the fish off. I have used this strategy against the fish successfully, especially of late. Its frustrating though as far as not bluffing cause you just have to catch a hand or fold for hours, like I did last weekend. But youll make up for it when you do flop a hand as theyll pay you off even though you havent played a hand in hours, they (or at least most of them) arent paying attention anyways.I hope youll keep your post up, good readTake careEd

[rgold79 0]

I apologize in advance for being a ****. If you want to continue to write pseudo-articles you really should consider spell checking before posting. You had some good and well presented ideas but some of the errors vastly reduced your credibility in my eyes as I read. I'm not trying to be the grammar police, but if you're looking for people to take you seriously it will help significantly if you proofread what you've written before you post. Nice post, though, and thanks for sharing.

[pezeveng 207]

my uncle is one of these players that will call anything. He has the cash so bluffing him is impossible. Even if there are 4 spades on the board and you bet out big he will still call with top pair saying you don't have the 5th spade. Its very difficult bluffing guys like that. Even when they look foolish in a big pot they go right back at it, than they catch a monster and screw everyone.

[fleung22 1]

my uncle is one of these players that will call anything. He has the cash so bluffing him is impossible. Even if there are 4 spades on the board and you bet out big he will still call with top pair saying you don't have the 5th spade. Its very difficult bluffing guys like that. Even when they look foolish in a big pot they go right back at it, than they catch a monster and screw everyone.

Invite your uncle on Sunday