The Clueless Loser at the Table

[PhatCasino]

So you look around, hopefully it isn't you.....

What do you think is common about the person at your table conistently playing CRAP...

What's their profession?

What's their problem?

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[idrinkcoors]

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What do you think is common about the person at your table conistently playing CRAP...

What's their problem?

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I don't think that they necessarily have a problem. When I played at the Bellagio last week 4-8, there was a rich looking older Asian women who didn't have a clue. I'm guessing the money didn't matter to her. Now if it is the drunk kid playing junk all of the time, I think his problem is just impatience, and wanting to get his action fix.

[TakeMeToTheRiver]

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What's their problem?

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What's your problem with them?

Most of these people are tourists that stop in for a little fun. They don't mind donating some cash on the off chance that they might win some money. This is entertainment. They want to gambooool.

[sternroolz]

Decent, maybe break even player or slightly losing player who is on a full head of steam?

The consistent thing is that no matter what evidence you present to them, they think luck is the only factor in winning at Poker.

Your "Clueless Loser" is just a gambler that got lost and ended up at a poker table.

I don't think they have a problem. They make the game profitable and they make the game enjoyable.

The people with the problem are the college frat boys that feel they should win 100% of showdowns because they own a poker book.

[surfinillini]

SHOO SHOO RETARDED FLUUUUUUUUU !!!!

They are your best friend. Make sure they have fun. Even if they draw out on you and you actually give them some money it just ensures they'll be back to lose more later. Don't belittle them. Don't make them feel bad. They want to gamble. They are on vacation. If it's a fun community game rather than an individual game. Make them want to stay and give more away. Make them want to come back to the hottest game in town. They are your profit.

[FeliciaLee]

Scurvy has the right idea about how to play at the table with these people.

FWIW, I see lots of lawyers and doctors playing live. They look tired, they look overworked. They want to lose. They want to "give a little back." I think lots of them have guilty feelings.

They are almost always loose. Sometimes passive calling stations, usually aggressive, bordering on maniacal.

They seem to like games where they can play every hand without looking too ridiculous, like Omaha 8 and Stud 8, but I see them at every type game.

Read Dr. Al's book for more of this type of discussion. He nailed it.

Felicia /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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FWIW, I see lots of lawyers and doctors playing live. They look tired, they look overworked. They want to lose. They want to "give a little back." I think lots of them have guilty feelings.

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Where did you get this idea? Tired, sure, overworked, probably, but guilty about their success?? No way.

Back to the topic...

I was playing today and the table had the whole variety of bad players... The supper passive rock old lady who was probably just killing time before she had to go home and do nothing, the two college aged guys who watch WPT on TV and use phrases like "Well I'm pot committed" (this is 3/6 btw), the crazy old man/woman who plays every hand and takes 10 minutes to show his/her hand when it's time to showdown and never know's who won, the rich guy who's waiting for the 20/40 game and can't sit still for 10 minutes without gambling etc.

Some just want a good time, others are trying to kill time, get unstuck, and socialize.

[WhiskyRiver]

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FWIW, I see lots of lawyers and doctors playing live. They look tired, they look overworked. They want to lose. They want to "give a little back." I think lots of them have guilty feelings.


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How much you charge per half-hour, Dr. Freud? /images/graemlins/wink.gif I don't know about doctors, but the amount of time the lawyers who are making the most money spend at the office should get rid of any guilt regarding money.

[Emperor]

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They are your best friend. Make sure they have fun. Even if they draw out on you and you actually give them some money it just ensures they'll be back to lose more later. Don't belittle them. Don't make them feel bad. They want to gamble. They are on vacation. If it's a fun community game rather than an individual game. Make them want to stay and give more away. Make them want to come back to the hottest game in town. They are your profit.

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Great Post... I was playing in Vegas one night where there were 2 guys from Mexico City playing. They spoke very little english. They played every hand to the river no matter how many bets and showed down every hand. This went on for about 10hrs. There was a higher limit game breaking, and a couple of the guys there were trying to get the guys at the lower limit table to change the stakes and play the higher limit. They were being beliggerant about it. When the two men from Mexico City refused to play the higher limit, no one wanted to leave the lower limit table. (of course) So the higher limit players continued to be belligerant until I said, "Listen, these guys are down double digit racks. They are beginners, and they dont want to move. Why don't you fill in the rest of the seats here."

Needless to say the higher limit players shutup and sat down. I played a 15hr session that afternoon/evening/morning. In the morning the only players left was a dealer, me, and one of the higher limit players. I was running over the other two, and about the time the higher limit player is burning through his last bill in his clip, I ask him "You wanna raise the stakes?" I thought he was going to explode.

We had been giving each other a lot of crap playing 3 handed, and he just laughed it off after the initial moment of being stunned. Quite an enjoyable evening that could have been ruined if no one had stood up for those nice men from Mexico City.

[MicroBob]

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What's their problem?

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not having a single clue about how to play poker doesn't have to be a 'problem'.
some people just don't know how to play and don't care.

incredibly enough, MOST people have no interest in sitting around and reading a bunch of poker books....but some of these people DO actually like to play.

(similar to a former roommate of mine who I thoguht could be a REALLY good chess player if he put his mind to it...I recommended a couple of books to him...he said 'Hey...I like to play...but I don't want to waste my free-time reading about it.')


first time i played casino poker was in 1997 when I was driving through Biloxi.
Didn't even know what 'hold-em' meant. So I played stud (probably 1-5 I'm guessing).
Had no idea what i was doing. After a couple of hours it occured to me that a lot of the other players were folding a LOT more than me.
I think I played almost every hand.
And stayed in there on most hands on the off-chance that I might 'catch' something.

I was having fun, winning some, losing some, and it never even occured to me that my strategy was so terrible that I had virtually no chance of winning long-term while some of my opponents did.


Next time I played poker was Feb, 2003 on Pokerstars.
I still couldn't remember if a flush beat a full-house or vice-versa.
I bet that I played around 80% of my hands.

i also didn't understand what the 'NL' or 'limit' or 'PL' desgination next to the games in the lobby meant.
Then I noticed the slide-bad and started to figure it out little by little.


Just a few of my total-noob experiences.


Some people like to take bad-odds on the craps table, or play ANY bet roulette (they're all pretty bad) or make -EV plays on the BJ table (like standing on their 15 vs. a T...much less the guys who 'have a hunch' and double-down on their hard-13).
Other guys like to play poker my 'hunch' without really actually 'thinking' too much about it.


If you want to know what the deal is with poker-players who just don't know how to play very well and don't care then I suggest looking around the casino at ALL the other customers having a good, or not-so-good, time at all the other -EV games in the place.

[lefty rosen]

In two years you went from retard bad to multitabling 5/10 good, wow...... /images/graemlins/grin.gif /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[somapopper]

Maybe their problem is you not tipping is putting them on tilt.

"I don't understand why this guy thinks he's so special that he doesn't have to chip in like we all do."

They get so mad they just have to play 94o. Good strategy.

[BarronVangorToth]

At least speaking about the $5-$10 through $20-$40 limits, I can't remember the last time that there were fewer than 3 people that were "clueless" at a full-table.

Table selection ahoy!

Barron Vangor Toth
BarronVangorToth.com