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View Full Version : Seeking advice on how to play BAD players


Bigwig
07-26-2004, 04:23 PM
A little background on me first. I've played poker for over ten years, but only seriously for one. But, I've probably played 100,000 hands of hold em' in the past year, primarily in SNG's at the $20 on stars. I do well, but not great (ROI hovers from 15 - 20%).

I've been playing a lot more live tourneys lately (about half are multi-table and half single table). And the play compared to the SNG's on stars is TERRIBLE. I mean, many of these guys have no business putting their money down on a poker table.

Here are the problems I keep running into:

* While keeping tight/aggressive play, a couple of dopes get big stacks by busting out other dopes when neither should have raised or called all-in. So, I appear to be a smaller stack early on.

* Nobody respects a raise. Pot sized bet? Means nothing to them. As long as I'm getting poor calls, I realize that this is not necessarily a bad thing. But in a tourney, with a limited amount of chips, it can be a disaster to have TWO guys chasing you to the river.

Anyway, does anyone have similar experience? I'm winning in these tourneys, but what do I have to do to improve my play against 'bad' players who I'm not used to facing?

Cleveland Guy
07-26-2004, 04:40 PM
I play a lot of low limit SnG - and I try to do a couple of things.

Early on when flops are cheap (t20 into t1500) limp with a lot of hands. If you hit it perfectly - push hard, if not fold. If the betting makes your draw a good bet, then bet the draw.

I love people who slow play KK into a pot of 6 people, and then wonder how they lose to a river flush.

When you get the big hand pre-flop PUSH AND PUSH HARD. Weak players will call a lot of hands they shouldn't.

I tend to do fairly well - and it keeps people guessing. They think I'll play weak hands, because they don't look at when I play the weak stuff and when I play the strong stuff.

Kdowski
07-26-2004, 05:07 PM
I play in Live Tournaments with a mix of decent players and really bad ones. I seem to run into the same problems, with chasing and no one respecting a pot size bet, etc....
What I do is let them duke it out in the early rounds and if you do come in make it decent size, 4x BB if playing NL.
Bet out on every flop, win those small pots to chip up, which will allow you to play a big pot with the 2nd best hand later on and hopefully knock someone out.
I've also noticed that the bad players tend go to the river with top pair weak kicker or bottom pair ALOT. So with that I either fold or raise them, never just calling a bet (unless I have a monster), that seems to work with the bad players I play with. Usually with the bad players its best to just play straight up, check-raises etc don't seem to work, and win the pot right away.
Also in the long run I figure those bad players will tend to lose their "luck" and skill and knowledge of the game will win. Good Luck

Bigwig
07-26-2004, 05:52 PM
[ QUOTE ]
I've also noticed that the bad players tend go to the river with top pair weak kicker or bottom pair ALOT.

[/ QUOTE ]

YES. Just crazy, isn't it? I wonder if it's worth just value betting them the whole way, and folding if they show BIG strength.


[ QUOTE ]
check-raises etc don't seem to work, and win the pot right away.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, they don't work. Poor players don't recognize what the check raise is suppossed to mean. They just call. So doing it for fold equity just isn't going to work.


Thanks to both for the advice. It's good. More is welcome.