Playing the Fish


  • It is of vital importance that you profit from playing against bad online players because if you don’t make the most of the ‘fish’, you won’

    A fish is a player who will see more flops than he should, call more bets than he should, and basically pay off more players than he should. Fish are dangerous though, because they chase draws, they are hard to bluff and when they do have big hands, they are disguised by their stats. 

    You must adapt your play when you come up against a fish. Rather than betting 3-4 times the BB pre-flop, bump it up to 5-6 times, making it harder for these loose players to call you with filth. Don’t try to be too cute by slow-playing big hands.

    Bet them hard, unless you have the nuts of course. It is better to win a small pot than lose a big one. Also you don’t want to be nailed on the river by a fish because it is bound to send you into tilt mode. Passive fish are players who call a lot, but don’t raise much.

    These players can be value-bet and easily manipulated. Just don’t try bluffing them! Have confidence in your game and the fact that if you play better poker you will come out on top in the long run. Unfortunately it is the short run that sticks in the memory, but don’t let a fishy player get you down.

    One thing that I have found is that fish tend to come out late at night. Alcohol tends to lubricate the fish and their play becomes even more erratic than usual, so be careful if you fancy a late-night session.

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5 comments
  • Ian Ross
    Ian Ross Your blog post seems to recommend staying away from fish when, I believe, the exact opposite should apply. Play good strong poker and you'll extract more money from a 'fishy' table than from one where all the players are of an average/good skill level.
    November 3, 2011
  • Ronin1085 .
    Ronin1085 . I was speaking from a playing live situation. Much different than people playing online, and most likey playing multi-tables.
    November 3, 2011
  • Ian Ross
    Ian Ross Do you think there's much difference with online versus live fishy players/calling stations?
    November 3, 2011
  • Ronin1085 .
    Ronin1085 . I think there is a big difference. Online you have limited info, but live you see their reactions.
    November 3, 2011