Weak Players

I was reading an article on weak players by Daniel Negreanu. He states that in order to win at a poker table, you go after the weak players. To find the weak players, the article lists some thigns to look for to identify the weak players.

1) How he dresses. A player who dresses extremely conservatively, he'll more than likely play that way.

2) How he talks. A quiet or timid player usually plays that way.

3) A weak player usually limps in regularly.

4) An aggressive player bets while a weaker player checks or just calls others' bets.

When you identify them, go after them aggressivley until they start loosing their game. It's the perfect example of playing the player, not the cards. You could have 2, 7 offsuit and win against a weak player. The article concludes by stating that if a weak player calls on he flop, proceed with caution. A weak player likes to slow play a mad hand or a flush draw. I'd like to quote the last paragraph of the article which is also the last paragraph of my post.

"There is an adage in poker that I think sums up that last point; "If you bluff a bad player you then become one." Stay aggressive against weak players, but don't get caught running without the ball when they show interest in the flop."

I see only one flaw in that article. What happens when you don't identify the weak player at the table because it is you. I have sat at tables where I know I am outclassed by several of the players. Then what do you do?

Leave! Unless it's a tournament you have no obligation to stay in a game where your chances of taking the money are diminished.

And this doesn't have to mean that you're outclassed. It can also mean the game is so tight, with so little in the pots that you can't overcome the rake. That's why I quit playing in California clubs for several years, the games all nutted up and the casinos were so greedy with the rake I couldn't make any thing (the casinos are still greedy but the games have loosened back up).

Or you could be in a game with a bunch of maniacs who are 3 betting every round. Sounds nice but your bankroll might not be able to stand the action. That's happened to me too. Nothing like being the best at the table but the first to bust out.

So anytime the game isn't right, there's no sin in getting up and finding a better game.