I've been playing the 2 table $6+.60s on FT for the last few days with what's left of my shattered bankroll. These are so beatable it's not funny. Sure, you get a lot of bad beats, but the best players win more often than not.

But, something I've been seeing a lot really bothers me. Players think because they win a hand, they are good players, and because they put a bad beat on you, you're not a good player. The one thing that is the absolute overall in poker is the player who makes the least mistakes while forcing his opponent into making a mistake wins, regardless of the results.

I was in the BB with AT. Three limpers and I just called. I could have raised, but I think this would have been a mistake as I wouldn't have made all three and the SB fold. Flop comes 24J. All check. (Good.) 6 on the turn, all check. (Again, good, as it's unlikely anyone has hit so far. River is another blank. SB and I check, EP bets the pot for $240, folded to me. I type: "I can't see anything there that might have hit your hand, so I call." He showed K3o and I raked the pot. "Thanks for the chips," I typed. Needless to say, the whole table went nuts. They might have learned something if they'd just thought about it a little, but they'd prefer something else, I suppose.

Yes, I made a mistake, but I'd seen this guy play stupid and if I could put him on tilt, it might pay some dividends down the road, at least that is what was in my mind. What I didn't expect was the whole table to come gunning for me.

A little later, I was on the button with A2. Four limpers to me and I called. Huge pot odds for a marginal hand that might hit a miracle flop. It did. A24. SB bets 100 into a 200 pot, one call, I raise the pot. SB reraises and I call. Turn is a 3 and he pushes. I call. I hit my miracle and he hit his even bigger miracle. He turns over A3. Table goes wild. (Next hand I have TT in the CO, push and get two callers, which I know means my tens probably won't hold up. They don't, of course.)

It's all about mistakes. SB made a huge mistake by reraising with A3, out of position, with no odds to call. I did exactly what I should have done. According to the Theory of Poker, I won, even if I lost that hand, which is ok by me. His mistake, however, was compounded because he's not going to learn anything from actually playing the game. He thought he was so cool, beating me. But, judging from his play and his reactions, he will always be a loser.

The point I'm struggling to make is these low limit buy ins are really like OJT. You can earn while you learn. I made a mistake by antagonizing the table. I screwed up. I let my ego get out front of my good sense. I also violated my own rule about playing A2. So, I did learn something. My opponents however cannot say the same thing. I see this so often that there is no doubt in my mind when it's said that only 10% of all poker players actually make money, it's true. Very few actually will ever improve. They don't recognize when they make mistakes. They'll never move up in stakes, because they aren't going to improve enough to beat good players, and if you don't recognize a good player, you're sure to lose to them, over the long term. I'm not so sure I'm a good player, but I know I'm better than most of these assclowns who are pushing with middle pair.

This is why I'm loving these FT tourneys. They can get lucky and win their way onto the $24, and many win their way to the $75, and that's when a good player can clean up. Since I've been playing these, I think my game has improved by leaps and bounds. I've won quite a few bucks, but what I've learned is priceless. I'm improving my game and have a stack of tourney chips besides. I'm very happy with my game, if not my luck, but that's why these fish play, I suppose. For them, it's all about being lucky.

Can someone clue me in as to what's going on in the minds of these fish? Now, that's something I haven't learned.

CJ

Nothing is going on in their minds, hence the bad play. And you're right, you shouldn't be playing that A2 there you only flop 2 pair about 1:50 and you probably aren't getting implied odds unless the blinds are incredibly low and you got some large stacks.

Seen it all too many times

It is fun while you are doing ok but if it happens 15 times in a row at a limit that means something to ya it can really be a pain.

I can't play the stngs for a while because I just had a baby daughter who needs attention quite a bit.
I am at the limit HE now so I can sit out. Beats are even worse

Good post again Jack.

Seriously? I mean it. You really think that?

I can see how one could think they believe that, judging from some of the responses you see, but are they really that clueless? If they are, then I've been giving them more credit than they deserve, which is really not very much.

There is a thread going on right now I'm keeping up with on the MTT Forum of 2+2 that's extremely interesting and mostly over my head. Here's the last quote which I think is spot on:

"I have found that, for the most part, the average online player does not consider the cards I may be holding, only his/her own.

"I believe the abilty to put an opponent on a range of hands, the use of position, hand selection, and the calculating/use of pot odds are the keys of relatively few good online players. "

Syntax notwithstanding, I think this gives them even more credit than most deserve. I think the latter graph is really beyond the capabilities of most onliine players at the low limits and perhaps even higher. I know most of them have absolutely no clue as to what his opponent may be holding, if they even think about it.

I just had A4 on the button, 5 left. I raised and had 2 callers, including one of the worst players I've ever seen. Flop came 246. Checked to me and I pushed. Was called with, now get this, 55. Does anyone think for a single minute this guy stopped for a moment to consider what cards I might have? He just wasn't going to lay down his beautiful PP for anything. (I had played almost no hands at all, so it wasn't like he'd seen me bluffing.) This is, to me, a perfect example of a total fish move...on his part and perhaps even mine. (I had other factors to worry about, too, at the time, so it's not as bad as it looks.)

I really am starting to understand that we too often overthink some things. The idea that you can play without a hand based on what they think you have might be a problem. We complain the fish won't give you credit for a having a hand, when the simple reason is they don't think about what you have at all. This is also why bluffing really doesn't work. Most people think that poker is all about bluffing, when it's everything but. You have to be a pretty good player to successfully bluff, and you need a decent opponent to lay it down. Two things that are in short supply online.

Sometimes it seems so easy to play this game, and sometimes it's maddening. Maybe this is why? They just really don't have any clue at all?

CJ

For the longest time I never considered what my opponent might have and by some of my recent posts I still don't think what about they may have way to often. I think a big reason I have not developed this vital skill enough is that at the low limits people play anything from anywhere at anytime. Its almost impossible often times to put people on hands. The worst are flushes with people playing any two "sooted" cards from any position. As for bluffing don't even waste your time. My personal favorite is "But those are my two favorite cards is why I played them" If you ever get bored and wanna watch a fish swim around just look me up on Full Tilt

The name is tepshen

I was playing the micro limits at PS tonight at it was pretty easy, of course I go really good cards, that helps. My fav hand was BB 35, call all the way around, check..

You guessed it, flop 426. No one saw it coming. I emptyed 2 chip stacks, Lucky hands. But I'll take it..

then got AA, KA, KK, AA within the next 15 hands. although the second AA got busted, But I kept my loss to a min. So, I'm feeing pretty good...

I dont now if PS is a fish hatchery, or maybe just the micor limits are, but it worked for me tonight.. One day I'll move some $$ over to Party Poker and test the waters..

THey're fish hatchery everywhere, I've never played nl less than nl $100 (was a limit player) but it was more than plenty a fish hatchery there.

I agree that there are fish everywhere, and it amazes me. Saw this chick last night keep calling this guy all the way to the river. She flips over KK and rakes the pot, despite having called a pre-flop raise and an A falling on the flop. A couple of tourneys later, I had A5s in LP and the flop came ATT. I bet small on the flop, a little bigger when the turn was an A, and all in when the river A fell. He called. Not too often you get doubled up on quad As, but there are fish everywhere.

Golden1, while I agree that bluffing isn't usually the best choice, it is great when you have the right circumstances. I raised in the CO with AQs. With 4 hearts on the board and and a player I knew was very weak in EP, I bet big and she folded up. The combination of position and aggression took down a pot I had no business winning. It's not the best thing to do, usually, but I still believe that the best player usually comes out ahead, if he's really a good player and not just a bigger fish.

CJ

Was playing a 2/4 limit HE table at the card room, and get dealt [6h] on the button. Guy in early position raises and announces "Finally, my favorite hand", 2 callers to me and I call along with the BB. Flop comes out [Ah][6d]. He raises, 2 callers, I reraise, BB folds, he calls along w/ the other 2 callers. Turn is a giving a flush draw, checks to me and I raise, other 3 call. RIver is , checks to me, I bet, and he check-raises, the other 2 (finally) fold and I call. I expect to see AA or possibly AK, but he smiles and flips over [Jd] for the back-doored flush.

Point is, this guy will probably play TJs to the river until he is broke, regardless of what cards come out or what other people do, because he truly believes that TJ loves him. He's not playing the other players, not even playing the board, just his favorite hand.