How to spot a fish and sharks at SSNL tables

canis582 · #1 03-11-2005, 02:13 PM

When I was playing 2-5 and 1-2 in vegas, the only way I could tell if someone was good was if they had a big stack. On the other side I could only tell someone was a fish when they put their third buy-in on the felt. When I was at a brand new 2-5 table at the Bellagio and everyone had 200, I had no clue.

What kind of betting patterns and mannerisms do you look for when you sit down at a table?

neotope · #2 03-11-2005, 02:41 PM

The Bellagio 2/5 is only max $200? That seems rather low.

Anyways I play a lot of 2/5 and 5/5 No Limit but I am hardly an expert. I however never judge a player by the stacks of chips in front of them or by how many buy-ins they have went through.

I was playing Fallsview a couple weeks ago and saw a guy go through almost 3 full buy-ins in a couple hours. Then he went on a tear and ended up around $2500. Using your logic I guess he went from a fish to a shark.

Bremen · #3 03-11-2005, 02:58 PM

What I always watch for is people who overplay draws and TPTK. These are the people you're going to be making money off of. Which on some occasions for me has been everyone at the table :0)

Kaz The Original · #4 03-11-2005, 03:03 PM

Is it that hard? Look at their hands at showdown. Then think about how they played their hands.

mrkilla · #5 03-11-2005, 03:12 PM

A big stack doesn't man a good player, it could be a bad player getting lucky.

dld · #6 03-11-2005, 03:16 PM

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On the other side I could only tell someone was a fish when they put their third buy-in on the felt.

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I'm not sure that this is a solid indicator that someone is a fish. Especially at a 2-5 blind game with a buy-in capped at $200.

canis582 · #7 03-11-2005, 03:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
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On the other side I could only tell someone was a fish when they put their third buy-in on the felt.

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I'm not sure that this is a solid indicator that someone is a fish. Especially at a 2-5 blind game with a buy-in capped at $200.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know its not a solid indicator, that was my point.

canis582 · #8 03-11-2005, 03:20 PM

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The Bellagio 2/5 is only max $200? That seems rather low.

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Its sweet, only getting 40 bbs makes the game very aggressive.

nate1729 · #9 03-11-2005, 04:46 PM

Yeah, what he said. If you want some less reliable information:

-Look at how he handles his chips. You can tell a lot about someone's experience level, if not his skill, that way.

-At a no-limit table, the amount of a raise, especially a preflop raise, is a relatively good quick indicator. If it's a crazy over/underbet, if it doesn't change based on the number of limpers, position, etc... you're often dealing with a crappy player. Of course, this just goes back to watching how he plays his hands, but this doesn't even require seeing a showdown.

And frankly: respect your opposition, but most of the players at the small NL tables these days are horrible. Don't go making big laydowns or anything without an excellent reason. If he raises to 25 UTG, he isn't necessarily trying to do reverse-psychology stuff with AA, he probably just thinks 25 is a nice round number.

Good luck.

--Nate

burningyen · #10 03-11-2005, 05:07 PM

On one night at the Bellagio, the one player at my 2/5NL table who everyone else was salivating over was the one with the biggest stack, maybe about $1500 or so. Absolutely horrible player, but he bought in 7 times and went on a big run. But I do see playing long stretches with a super-short stack as a sign of weakness/timidity. A lot of times the super-short players are just waiting for the inevitable bust-out.