A fish in poker is a player who makes a lot of mistakes at the table. These players are very easy to spot and are the ones that you should target when playing poker. Fish can be found at every stake level and are the easiest players to make money off of. They often call down with inferior hands, play without position, and make basic errors that regulars won’t. The goal of this article is to teach you how to identify a fish and exploit them.
A Fish is a newbie player or someone who plays poker recreationally. They are easy to spot by their loose and aggressive style of play. They may also be a bit mentally frail, making them susceptible to bad beats and tilting.
The most common mistake of a fish is playing too wide of a range in all positions. They will often try to bluff with garbage and bet too much with their good hands. They also tend to make huge fundamental mistakes that are fairly easy for experienced players to pick up on. Fishes also make a lot of bad reads and are not good at interpreting information about their opponents.
Another way to spot a fish is by watching their bet sizing. They will usually bet half pot, two thirds of the pot, or full pot postflop. This is a sign that they don’t understand basic poker strategy and are just calling for the pot. You can also use your poker HUD to see how many hands their opponent is playing preflop. If they are playing 40% or more of their hands, this is a surefire sign that they are a fish.
Fishes can be found in both live and online games. However, they are more prevalent in online poker. The reason for this is because it’s easier to play more hands when you don’t have to worry about other players seeing your cards. You can also use software to analyze your own game and determine if you are a fish.
While it’s important to learn from your mistakes and improve your poker skills, you shouldn’t berate weak players for making them. This is bad table etiquette and it will only make the situation worse for everyone at the table. If you want to be a successful poker player, you need to respect the fish and give them their dues. They are the ones putting money back into the game and if they stop depositing, the game would eventually cease to be profitable.
So when you’re playing poker, don’t be afraid to call out the fish if they are making questionable calls or if they have a big flop. They’re your customers at the end of the day and they’re the reason that you get to make a living from this amazing game. So be nice to them and they’ll keep coming back again and again. Good luck!
