It’s important that you specifically target the weaker poker players at the table,
as this is where you will make the majority of your money. A weak
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poker player will usually do lots of limping and calling and not much,
if any, raising pre-flop. If you were to continue with your normal tight aggressive poker strategy you
would still wind up winning more often than not, but by making some adjustments
you can maximize the amount you can win when playing against weak players.
There are two main types of players you want to try to isolate in hands:
The tight weak player, who will fold easily
The donkey, who calls down with a wide range of weak hands
Isolating the Donkey Caller
The Weak Tight Player The key in cash games is to wait until you have a good
starting hand, and isolate the weak poker players. You make money from weak
players by making them pay for limping in and calling a raise with weak hands.
For example, if the fish has T7s, the fish will call the raise because they want to
see a flop with two suited cards. If you tighten up your starting hand requirements,
you will often be ahead of their calling range, and so the chances are fairly good
you will have the best hand on the flop.
Be sure to keep a careful eye on the rest of the table, and pick your spots to try
to isolate a player in poker infrared contact lenses . Your aim is to isolate so
it’s only you and the donkey player in the pot. Isolation plays best work where
there’s a minimal number of players in the hand and you believe a good raise
will bump the rest of the players off their hand preflop. Table position will also
be an important factor on when you can isolate. After observing the table you
should get a feel for which players will fold out easily preflop. From that you
should be able to work out when isolating raises preflop are most likely to work.
E.g a spot like this – tight player limps, the donkey calls – are usually good spots to try to isolate the donkey player. You know the tight player in early position will most likely fold to a good raise, and the donkey will almost certainly call, making it highly likely that a raise here will isolate just you and the donkey in the pot.
If you find that the weak poker players are folding to your raises preflop, then
you should be able to steal extra pots by opening up your game even more in
late position when the weak player limps in early position, so make some strong
raises with additional hands such as KT, QT, Axs, etc. If players behind you are
calling you when you try and steal the dead money preflop, then you may need
to adjust and raise for value more.
On the flop you need to follow up with a continuation bet of 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot,
whether you hit or not. A weak tight player will fold unless they have something.
The will often play fit or fold poker, so even when you miss the flop a continuation
bet will take down the pot. And because you have taken initiative in the hand by
raising preflop, they will always think you have a hand. If you find that they are
calling stations post flop, then you need to adjust your play, and only bet for value.
The important concept to keep in mind is that you make the majority of your money
against weak players who limp/call too much by winning lots of small pots, which
adds up over the course of a long session. If they stick around after the flop
they will have a hand, and you shouldn’t look to play back at them unless you
have a strong hand yourself.
You’re not trying to win big pots against weak players, you’re trying to force
them out and win small/medium sized pots. If you’re involved in a large pot
with a weak/passive player you better watch out. They have the goods!
In addition to stealing pots, weak players will allow you to limp into many pots.
It allows you to play additional hands in late position or the blinds when two or
more people have entered the pot behind you, such as suited connectors or
suited one-gappers or low pocket pairs. Don’t make the mistake of speculating with hands
like KJ and Q8 in limped pots, which can get you into awkward spots with kicker
issues.
Adopt a tight aggressive strategy when playing against fish whom limp/call by
raising your good hands. If you have a strong starting hand like TT or AQ,
make them pay for trying to play weak hands against you. Always remember
that controlled aggression is what makes the most money playing poker.