should the fish be respected?

[onegymrat]

Hi fish43,
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How can you develop the skill to take advantage of someone's weaknesses and at the same time not develop a large disrespect for them? Or do you have to believe your opponents are fools, donkeys, and fish in order to play poker aggressively enough? If I'm worried about this should I just stick the play money tables?

[/ QUOTE ] I think this forum's gotten WAY too loose with the terms "fish" and "donk" as well as other names. A poor poker player is human, just like you and me, it's just that entertainment is more important to them than playing seriously. Therefore, they play with "gambling" on their minds.

You should respect all players, regardless of how they play. Playing poker better than your opponents doesn't make you a better person. I am sure the losing players whom I play against are better than me at many other things in life.

You definitely don't NEED disrespect to play them better. Keep in mind, just because a player does not play like you do, that doesn't make him a fish. As another poster just stated, for all you know, he may think YOU'RE a fish. Regardless, this is still just a game, don't look so deep into this topic.

I agree with what most of onegymrat says about how we tend to label people with these disrespectful terms when they are just people like you and I. However, when I play with people that I view as less skilled than I am I really have trouble not becoming annoyed with how they play.....limping into nearly every pot, calling large raises with a gut shot straight draw, etc. A part of me really just doesn't even want to play with them because I really am one of the most competitive people I know, I want to win all the money off of the best players I can find, I love the challenge. However I also realize that a good portion of the money I make playing poker comes from these less skilled people and that consistently winning money from the best players I can find is definitely not something my game can afford just yet. It's a balancing act I suppose.

Clark