How to handle a fish?

[RBurke]

Villian is a fish who will call with a wide range of hands, and bluff far too often. AKA your typical weekend party player.

I feel this is an area of my game that needs work. I never quite know if I'm correct to call, even though I'm fairly sure I'm beat. Thoughts and thrashings welcomed.


Party Poker Pot-Limit Hold'em, $ BB (8 handed) converter (http://www.selachian.com/tools/bisonconverter/hhconverter.cgi)

Button ($7.80)
SB ($21.30)
BB ($29.20)
UTG ($22.80)
UTG+1 ($35.45)
MP1 ($20.20)
MP2 ($26.40)
Hero ($41.20)

Preflop: Hero is CO with T/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, T/images/graemlins/spade.gif. SB posts a blind of $0.10. Hero posts a blind of $0.35.
UTG calls $0.25, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, MP1 calls $0.25, <font color="#666666">1 fold</font>, <font color="#CC3333">Hero (poster) raises to $1</font>, Button calls $1.25, <font color="#666666">2 folds</font>, UTG calls $1, MP1 folds.

Flop: ($4.45) J/images/graemlins/heart.gif, 2/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, Q/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(3 players)</font>
UTG checks, <font color="#CC3333">Hero bets $2</font>, Button calls $2, UTG folds.

Turn: ($8.45) 8/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">Button bets $0.25</font>, Hero calls $0.25.

River: ($8.95) 4/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="#0000FF">(2 players)</font>
Hero checks, <font color="#CC3333">Button bets $1</font>, Hero calls $1.

Final Pot: $10.95

[TrailofTears]

[ QUOTE ]
I never quite know if I'm correct to call, even though I'm fairly sure I'm beat.

[/ QUOTE ]

For .25, you should be calling with any hint of that board.

This isn't really something that the forum can help with a lot. You need to figure out what his tiny bets mean, and go from there. Some people bet tiny with monsters, and some bet tiny with hands that are moderate, but certainly can't handle a substantial raise. Some people bet to price themselves in on draws.

Sometimes you have to just fire out with a raise and figure these things out by experience. Here you got a very cheap showdown, and you should take a note on villain and make the appropriate move in the future.

There are all kinds of donks out there, and you can only know what kind you are dealing with through experience.

-T

[Isura]

Make a real bet on the flop or check/fold. Your $2 probe bet sucks, since you give good odds to drawing hands and have no idea whether you are ahead if someone calls.