Be Nice to the Fish
written by BeatTheFish.com
 ...Fishy
says, "Don't forget, you want them to play that way!"
Obviously this site is dedicated to
helping you beat the fish, online and offline. Hopefully your cards
are always blessed and you don't suffer too many awful beats.
Unfortunately, it still happens, especially in online play. If you
don't know the frustration of having 2 or 3 hands in a row being
sucked out on the river by lesser hands, it isn't an experience that
I recommend. Much of the time, the culprit will be an obviously
inexperienced or highly brain dead "fish", who's just doubled up by
sheer luck and willingness to gamble
Online poker room rooms feature a chat
box in the table window that attempts to recreate the social aspect
of playing at a poker table. It's not exactly the same, but it does
at least provide some form of contact for those who wish to converse
at the table. When you've just suffered a particularly bad and
costly beat, you may be tempted to criticize your opponents' play
(or perhaps just let off some steam via some four-letter words)
using the chat box.
Why do it? I understand that your
opponent has just stayed with a garbage hand that he should have
folded without a second thought, but most of the time, this is the
player you're going to be collecting the most chips from. If you
chastise him for his poor play, maybe he'll start to tighten up and
beat you with some real cards next time. Maybe he's a little
embarrassed and leaves the table after your comments, taking your
chips with him.
Even though you're going to occasionally
suffer a bad beat from the online fish, most of the time their trash
hands just won't hold up. Statistically, when he has four-to-a-flush
on the flop, he's only going to complete the flush about 1/3 of the
time. If you're heads-up against him and you bet the size of the pot
on the flop, he's not getting the necessary 3 to 1 odds to play that
hand. You're making him go against the odds, and you'll win most of
the time in the long run. You want him to call with a flush
draw every time, provided you make him go against the odds.
Bad streaks can happen. If you stay on
your game and avoid tilt, you're going to bounce back. It doesn't
improve anything for you to flame the fish and tap on the aquarium
glass. It's only going to make the rest of the table feel
uncomfortable, alienate yourself, and perhaps make your fishy
friend play a little better or leave the table. You might even
consider complimenting your opponent on his bizarre play. A
standard, "Nice hand," will suffice and you're encouraging him to
play the same way next time, which is really what you want in the
long run. Keeping everyone at the table happy and comfortable
stimulates a much more profitable situation.
Be nice to the fish, keep your cool, and
stay off the chat unless you're going to compliment him on his poor
play. It's much better off for your bankroll in the long run if he
continues to play his same fishy style.
Back to Online Poker Strategy
This article or portions of this article
may not be used in any form without permission.
|
