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About 95% of people who play poker for play money are considered fish. This is a commonly used term for beginners and weak poker players. This is especially prominent if, after playing some freerolls and play money games, a person moves to real money games, where the level of play is significantly higher. This article will be useful for beginner and more advanced poker players who want to know who fish is in poker and learn how to identify such a player at the table quickly.
Meaning behind the Word Fish
The word Fish probably comes from an idea that those players are an easy catch for experienced players, who are often referred to as “sharks”. So the little “fish” is just an easy food for “sharks”.
Many fish do not know the rules and nuances of the game. Those are just the beginners, who has the potential to lately get better at the game. Usually, inexperienced players prefer lower stakes or play money games, or freerolls. They play carefully in order to get a feeling for the game.
There is, however, another type of fish, players who just out there having fun. They are not interested in the rules or strategies of the game of poker. In their understanding, poker is just a game of adrenaline or a source of raising self-esteem from beating professionals.
The main features of fish:
- Poor understanding of the game. Fish in poker often do not know the basic principles and strategies of poker.
- Loose game. They play too many hands, regardless of their strength.
- Passive or overly aggressive. They can be either too passive (not making any bets) or too aggressive (betting and raising relentlessly).
- Poor bankroll management. Fish often have no control over their money and quickly lose their entire bankroll.
- Predictability. Their actions are easy to read, making them easy prey for experienced players.
Players of this type don’t really care about return of investments, they just put the money in mindlessly. Usually, these fish are not used to folding hands and will call or raise any action of the opponent.
Difference between Fishes and Regulars
If you want to quickly understand whom you are playing against, below we will list the main differences between a fish and a regular.
Game understanding:
- Fish: Often does not understand the basic principles of poker, plays intuitively.
- Regular: Knows the theory and practice of poker well, uses a mathematical approach and analyzes opponents’ actions.
Game strategy:
- Fish: Plays chaotically, without a clear strategy, often enters the game with weak hands.
- Regular: Has a solid strategy, chooses hands for the game based on the position and situation at the table.
Bankroll management:
- Fish: Does not care much about money in the game, often goes broke.
- Regular: Thoroughly manages his bankroll, plays at stakes that match his financial capabilities.
Emotional control:
- Fish: Prone to tilt, easily succumbs to emotions, which leads to mistakes.
- Regular: Maintains calamity and discipline, does not allow emotions to influence the game.
Adaptability:
- Fish: Plays the same against all opponents, does not know how to adapt to different conditions.
- Regular: Constantly analyzes and adjusts his strategy depending on the playing style of his opponents.
How to Play against Fish?
There are different types of players at the table and playing the same strategy against an experienced regular and newbie fish is wrong. You should try to isolate fishes to play heads up against you as much as possible, since playing against them is just a walk in a park, compared to regulars. There are some simple tricks for that:
- Make a big raise preflop to squeeze most of the players out of the game. Most likely, only the fish will stay in the game with you, because such players always want to see the flop.
- Make a raise in late positions if the rest of the opponents play passively.
It is quite difficult to bluff against such players. They may not understand why you bet or raise and mindlessly call you down. Going crazy with a weak hand in an attempt to push fish out of the pot is a poor idea.
If you have a feeling that a fish has hit something strong, you should not try to represent an even stronger hand to make him fold. Remember that even weaker players can hit good hands and win at showdown. Try to only be aggressive against the fish with medium or strong hands. If the hand is not strong enough, you can go to a showdown without inflating the pot. Remember that the fish in 90% of cases wants to get to showdown. Therefore, inflating the pot with trash is a very bad idea.
How to Play against Fish Hunters?
You can often see experienced players raising and pushing other regulars out of the hand to play heads up against a fish. If you see what they are trying to do, you can use it against them and play aggressively when they try to isolate fish.
When regulars raise in an attempt to isolate fish, put a 3x or 5x 3-bet against it. Most often, the regular will fold his hand and you will be the one left to play heads up against the fish. If a regular has a really good hand or if he simply knows what you are trying to achieve and re-raises, then you have to fold, unfortunately.
Of course, after his re-raise you can still go all-in. If the villain is not that loose and aggressive, he will probably fold. After such a risky all-in, the reward may be a big pot without even seeing the flop.
How to Identify a Fish at the Poker Table?
If you spot a fish at the table, you can make good money playing against them. There are two types of fish players:
- Maniacs. They constantly bet, never fold, and pressure their opponents with money. This is easy prey for experienced players. You just make him give you money themselves when you make a good hand.
- Calling stations. They almost never fold their hands, calling even huge bets. The main goal here is to get to showdown and see what everyone has. If you play thoughtlessly against such opponents and make big bluffs, you can lose most of your stack.
Before the game, you need to determine what type of fish you are facing and choose the right strategy for him. Usually, such opponents do not adapt throughout the game. For example, you can determine what bet size they fold against. This type of information can help you win much more against them.
If the fish is the calling station type, just bet big on every street when you make a good hand. These players can give you a lot of money if you play right. Usually, after a loss, fish do not try to analyze the game or change anything. They simply move to another table and look for some luck.
Services for Fish Scouting and Improving Your Game
Playing well against fish is just a small part of winning strategy. In online poker, success also often depends on a thorough analysis of opponents and your own game. Modern services such as HisHands, Statname and MagicSeat provide poker players with effective tools for achieving maximum results.
HisHands
HisHands is a service that allows you to obtain the hand histories in popular poker rooms. The main advantage is the high level of data detail, which allows you to find out the weaknesses and features of your opponents’ game.
Advantages of HisHands:
- Coverage of up to 99% in most of the common poker rooms.
- Access to detailed information even on unknown opponents.
- Easy to use data mining together with the tracker.
Our service is suitable for players who want to optimize their actions at the table based on previously played hands in different poker rooms.
Statname
Statname is a tool for analyzing opponent statistics and building your own game strategy. Unlike other tools, it offers convenient search and data collection that fully complies with the rules of poker rooms.
What Statname provides:
- Information about the playing style of opponents (tight, aggressive or loose strategies).
- The ability to analyze your own stats, which helps eliminate errors.
- Compatibility with most modern poker rooms.
An ideal choice for those who want to study the results of opponents in detail and develop skills in the game.
MagicSeat
MagicSeat is a program created specifically for finding the most profitable tables. This auto-seating script is looking for the best tables with target players and best seats.
Why you should choose MagicSeat:
- Saving a lot of time on table selection.
- High ROI due to playing against less experienced opponents (fish).
- Support for many rooms and flexible search parameters.
This software will be an excellent solution for professionals who value time and prefer to focus on profitable play, having received all the necessary data.
Conclusion
Fish is a poker slang for players who have recently started playing poker and do not have much experience or those who play for fun. You can make good money on such newcomers if you use the right tactics against them.
You can find a fish in any poker room. Such players are found both at low and high stakes. After watching 5-6 hands at the table, you will most likely find the fish and determine what type of fish this is, and what strategy to use against them. You can also find tables with more than one fish player.
Remember that you are not the only one who wants to benefit from the fish. You need to carefully monitor other opponents and be able to push out of the pot in time to stay heads up against the fish. Moreover, if you want to feel confident at any table, regardless of the level of your opponents, such useful services as HisHands, Statname and MagicSeat will definitely help you a lot. Be sure to try and you will see the result after the first sessions!
