Fish Poker

Poker games are laden with rules, but they have a distinct ecosystem. At the top of the food chain are the sharks, while the fish sit at the bottom. More often than not, the sharks will dismantle the fish when they play poker. Indeed, the difference between the sharks and the fish is day and night.

On the poker table, the fish will aim to survive and ward off the threat of the more experienced players. In our in-depth guide, we intend to give you a full overview of how fish operate when playing poker. We will show you how to spot poker fish players and give you some key strategy tips. At the end, we will tackle a few customary FAQs.

WHAT IS A FISH IN POKER?

So, at this point you may well ask what is a fish in online poker? The term poker fish is a more recent introduction to the poker lexicon. It may not be the most technical but it refers to the new breed of weaker players that have entered the game. At a basic level, they have this innate ability of playing bad hands when the opportunity arises.

These mistakes can be wide-ranging, and they can include everything from a poker player playing hands that should be folded, betting too wildly in a bid to get a strong hand, or simply being too passive on the poker table.

The shark therefore will only be too happy to capitalise and pounce on the passive fish by taking their money. In many ways, the one thing that separates an online poker fish from regular players is the egregious errors they make when playing poker games.

Over time, the fish will continue to play poorly, and the shark or more experienced poker players will be able to spot this. Ideally, if you can play smartly from the pre flop to the post flop, then you will keep yourself out of the firing line from the shark.

TYPES OF POKER FISH PLAYERS

Most fish poker players will bear certain characteristics that will separate themselves from others on the table, and these features should act as red flags for their opponents.

Against good players, a poker fish will come unstuck. So a weaker player is likely to do the following in a game of texas hold’em.

Below, we have outlined the types of poker fish you will encounter when playing a poker game.

THE LIMPERS

This is a common strategy that is adopted by inexperienced players in poker games. Limping is commonly associated with raising preflop and this will be carried out by weak players who are more passive on the poker table.

In general, limping will be quite easy for a good player to spot while playing poker. If you are doing this with weak hands, it will be quickly evident who the fish are.

Some players may not like to raise limps, as they are worried that the limping player could be trapping with a good hand, such as KK or AA.

MANIAC PLAYERS

The poker fish that is the maniac will be very easy to spot as they will seek to bet at every available opportunity.

They will try to fire off as many bluffs as possible, but they will lose too many hands as they are simply throwing money away.

As such, the maniac will be too naive when it comes to preflop raises and this will hand a big advantage to the rest of the table.

NIT PLAYERS

Unlike other regular online poker players, a nit may take longer to spot. They may be the type of players that at least for the first half hour of any given game may decide against playing hands.

From an early position, you may not be able to cotton on to how tight they are playing, and they try to create an illusion. You may be left wondering when they will try to raise, but it is far from a profitable strategy.

THE BIG BETTERS

In any given game of poker, the shark will be more astute and ready to strike, while the poker fish will have no clear understanding of how the rules work or even how to play pots.

This lack of understanding will often translate into a big bet being placed and the size of the wagers will manifest throughout a poker game. So, for example, you could find that a player bets a tenth of the total pot in limit texas hold’em or they bet double with the second pair on the river.

THE WILD RANGERS

In online poker, you will also find the poker fish that are wildly out of position and sometimes they may have way too many hands.

You may notice that some poker fish style players will raise more than 40% of more of their hands. They may seem like fun players, but they can be easy to spot and you should make note of them for future games.

HOW TO SPOT A FISH IN POKER?

There are several ways to spot a fish in poker as their plays usually end up being bad beats. Some of them may be more recreational players, but they will give away a lot of clues when playing the game. We have explained below how to spot a fish in poker.

UNDERBETTING AND OVERBETTING

Pay close attention here and then take advantage later. You may see at a sit and go online poker table that a player stakes 1,000 chips when put under the gun, and they will only have 10/20 blinds to pick up.

Then, everyone will fold and the player will reveal a jack. It’s not the easiest hand to play or win, but you may need to ask whether it was really worth trying to risk 1,000 chips to steal 30 from the pot? It probably didn’t matter, but will you know how to play against a big hand in the future.

THE SHOWOFF

This may not be the telltale sign of a weak player, but nobody likes a showoff, and some people just can’t help themselves. They will like to reveal every bluff they have made, every pot they have raked in, and they will keep on showing hands to their opponents when they don’t need to. You don’t necessarily have to be a shark to spot a poker player who is a fish.

CHATTERBOXES

Those who are used to playing online poker will use an online chatterbox as a filter to create a false impression or put their opponents on tilt. But you can bet that in a game if other players type into the chat room ‘nh’ (nice hand) or ‘wp’ (well played) when someone happens to show aces, then there’s a good chance that they won’t know or understand what strong hands are.

CRITICS

Bad players will try to mask their failures by critiquing the other players at the table. But the fact of the matter is that in the long run you will want to come up against these players in a poker game as you don’t want them to walk away with money.

POSITION MATTERS

In poker, this will be second nature to professional players. They know how to spot a value bet and they will be effective in calling against trash cards. It is a basic strategy and you should look out for those who don’t use the button to bet and steal the blinds.

1 ON 1

If you are confident in your own game and wish to challenge a bad player 1 on 1 in online poker, then their flaws will suddenly be magnified. It won’t take long for you to realise that they may crumble under pressure. This could be in part because they will be unwilling to raise. With that, you will notice they will have lots of free cards and they will only bet out when using premium hands, so this could raise your chances of winning.

OVERCALLING

Calling can be a smart move, but if you are not quite sure what to do, then following the lead of everyone else may seem like the best idea to land big hands. However, calling on every hand will see you lose more often.

HOW TO SET YOURSELF UP AGAINST A FISH PLAYER IN POKER?

When you play poker, there are certain ways that you can exploit poker fish, so you can bolster your chances of winning.

• Don’t try and bluff them – They may call anything in poker, and if you’re bluffing, then their ‘anything’ could amount to a lot more than your ‘nothing’. Sometimes, it can be better to wait until you have a winning hand before you call out the fish.
• Identify value bets – If you want to win money at the table, then it is best to value bet and choose this option as often as possible. Sometimes, a fish might not like to fold whether it be on the preflop or the flop, so don’t be afraid to make a bet with two cards even if they seem like marginal hands. If you think you are going to barrel on overcards, then your opponent will be forced to make tough decisions all the time.
• Don’t pay poker fish off – Most of the time, fish will overestimate their odds when they play poker. Instead of passively calling, you can use the community cards to your advantage and treat them as a semi bluff. In short, your profit will come when making a top pair or better, and value bet relentlessly. So, if you think you have a big blind, then you should make the online poker fish pay.
• Take advantage of position – To collect money from playing limit texas holdem, you should consider your hands from the start to the last position. This is a basic poker strategy, and fish won’t like folding or re raising if there is money in the pot.
• Be aware of the tilters – The poker tilt is a vicious monster that can affect all poker players, whether they are more experienced or not. So, when playing, you should pay close attention to how many hands your opponents have. If they start to lose their hands quickly and begin betting differently, then you should assess their techniques from the pre flop. By doing so, you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

HOW TO AVOID BEING A POKER FISH

Being an online poker fish is a rather unenviable position, so here are a few strategies to adopt to get the most out of your poker game and to avoid carrying that tag:

TAKE DOWN THE C-BETTORS

In poker, there will be those players who will be happy continuously betting regardless of what is going on around them, and in many ways, it is a very flawed strategy. When a fish is contemplating raising during the preflop, then they will have to fold all of their bad hands. One thing you can do to beat this or counteract it, is to raise the c-bet more often at the table. If you can do that, then it is more likely you will bre more profitable and take money from the pot more consistently.

DON’T MAKE THINGS TOO COMPLICATED

A poker player will have many tricks up their sleeve, and they will be canny at being able to dig themselves out of trouble to thwart a poker fish. However, if you can keep things simple with your approaches and plays, then you will reap the rewards and take more money in the long term.

SIT TO THE POKER FISH’S LEFT

Position, as we have seen, is critical in poker. While normally we would be referring to the positioning of the board and the stages within a game, we also like to talk about positioning in a physical sense, and this can make a difference. So, if there’s a seat free to the left of the fish at one of the tables, then make sure you grab it. You will see that every time you limp, then raising will be much simpler and you can force your opponents to fold.

Even if you are unable to find a seat to the left of the fish, you can still isolate them with your early plays, which in turn, will bolster your chances of turning the table and winning.

SUMMARY

In any given game, there will always be some players that are more clued up, more street smart, and ultimately, stronger than others. Of course, it can be easy to dismiss the fish as being those who perpetually make mistakes, and view them as those who offer little value to the game.

However, you would be rather foolish if you were to underestimate them. If you can fine- tune your strategy when you play poker, then you will be better placed to spot the fish, and ultimately win more money from the pot.