what is a "fish"

I have found this term tossed around so many times. i have used it in many of ways but in the long run... are we all "fish"?? yea we flop nut flush draws and straight draws and do chase them... but should the term "fish" only be used when calling an all-in on a draw? i want to hear what everyone thinks because i think the term "fish" is what we call people when they outdraw us. i find myself as being a hypocryte calling someone a fish but then again if im drawing to the nut flush or nut straight, im not leaving the pot unless it's a ridiculous bet... so, what is you're definition of a "fish?"

A fish is someone who is bad at poker, players that make a lot of mistakes, not just those who chase draws without proper odds.

You should never call someone out for messing up ever though.

A fish is a person who is just a terrible poker player. A person that will call with a 26 preflop allin and win. He will suck out a lot and definately not place in a tournament. A fish is the same thing as a donkey in poker.

The Fish is the easy money at the table.

If you look around the table and can't tell who is a fish, then you are the fish.

If you can tell who's a fish, don't insult them or call them out, as you will be "tapping the fish tank."

A fish is a guy who is sure his flush is good with 5 folks in the pot and Q Q 10 10 3 are on the board. They just dont get it.

I imagine it doesnt take much for a small stake shark to turn into a high stake guppie though.

I guess its all relative to your competition.

This is my understanding. Most of the people here would probably think someone that calls an all-in when they only have a flush draw is a fish, I would imagine. But as the stakes become higher, the level of skill needed to avoid fishiness also increases.

No sometimes a fish will run above EV and can place ITM in a tournament. As in the grand scheme of things the number of hands played in a tournament are very small. It is quite easy for someone to run hot for the majority of a 500 or so hand tourny. I suspect that in any major tournament there would be a few fish who make it to the money.

As for a fish being the same as a donkey, my thoughts are a fish is someone who is new to the game and therefore knows very little about poker besides the rules and a very basic strategy. He plays way to many hands, does not understand any of the subtleties of the game, and is generaly a pretty poor player.

A donkey will often play just as bad as a fish if not worse, but is often someone who has been playing for a while and just doesn't get it. They have quite a bit of money and are playing for fun. They overestimate their ability and often try weird/strange plays and make rash descisions without thinking them through.

Fish

Poor Player.
Has a very limited Skill set.
Calls when he should Fold.
Folds when he should Call.
Plays junk and has No Clue.
Draws are a fishes Dream.

Long Live the Fish.
For they are where Profits and Glory are Born.

You only looked at the cash game side of things. If a fish gets lucky in an MTT and gets rid of a better player, then the fish is spotted, but if the better player ducks out of the way, nothing is noticed.

It is somebody who is not very good at poker and relies purely on luck rather than skill.

A Fish, I see the term as someone you pull into the pot slowly while you build the pot bigger while you know you have the better hand, and at the end of the hand the fish looks at his stack and sees he's pot commited so when you make the last bet on the river he have to call.

Just like when you wheel a fish in with a fishingpole.

A Donk is a stubbon player who won't leave the pot if he has anything, draw middle pair or whatever the donk just stays.

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taken from poker terms "Definition: If a poker player is called a 'donkey,' he's a bad player who makes blatantly bad poker plays. A weak player.

FISH -> Definition: A bad or weak poker player. A sucker.

Hmmm...I didn't call this person a fish, but I would consider him one. I was playing a $50 sit and go (one table, 9 players) and was doing fairly well. This guy raised 3x blinds raise preflop and I had A Q suited and was in position, so I called. Flop comes out Q and two low cards, two of them being diamonds. He raises the pot, I call. Turn comes out another low card, not a diamond. He goes all in and I call, putting him on K Q and hoping my kicker was good. The guys turns over 2 3 of diamonds and gets his 5th diamond on the river.
I consider someone a fish if they are horrible players "fishing" for something they shouldn't be fishing for, but I guess that's just me taking it literally. Kind of. lol.
But I guess that would be more of a "fisher," not a fish. But hey, I'm don't like either so it doesn't matter much to me!

I wouldn't really call what you described a fish. He raised pre-flop to represent a quality hand. He C-bet the flop when there was a flush draw on the board, and fired again when it didn't hit on the turn. I'm not saying he didn't get lucky and draw out on you on the river, but just because someone tries to make a move doesn't make them a fish. Now, if he repeatedly tries this strategy over and over again, then it's something different...

2 3 suited is a quality hand? lol

Yeah, I had seen him chase a lot of things like that previously as well.
It's just . . . to go all in with a very decent amount of chips (our stacks were both nice and about even) knowing I obviously had at least high pair on a low flush draw? I don't approve, but that's just my opinion. Especially since it was a $50 game. I don't bet $50 on a low chance like that, especially since his odds there were way worse than a coin flip.

Drawing to the nuts (with proper odds) isn't fishy at all... Some draws have more equity than made hands...

Fish: Super loose/super passive calling stations. They play waaaaaay too many hands with little to no aggression. They have a weak understanding of pokers most basic math/fundamentals. What they do understand, they seldom implement.

If you ask a "fish" WHY they played a hand in a particular way, the answer will often be based soley on the strength of their hand. They don't grasp the other equally important aspects of: position, pot odds, opponents actions, stack sizes, etc...

Defining WHAT a "fish" is makes for good excercise. If you know what the bad players are doing wrong then you can center your game on NOT making those mistakes yourself.

I think fish =/= donkey, and most people's definitions above are for a donkey.

A fish can be a very good player, as long as they are playing above their skill level. Jerry Buss for example is not a bad player and could probably win at lower limits but he is definitely a fish on High Stakes Poker. He is not, however, a donkey.

A donkey is someone who simply plays bad, has no understanding of the game, and generally doesn't have any interested in improving.

Therefore being a fish, while not good, is still better than being a donkey. After all a fish is a lot closer to becoming a shark than a donkey is.

A fish, like the term states, is someone you wanna "catch", as in catching a fish. It's someone, who if you play long enough (or wait long enough for a fish), you'll get all their chips, or "catch them". I like the saying, I'm on a strict poker diet, nothing but fish and their chips

This is the definition of donkey.

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HAND #1
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Poker Stars, $2.20 Buy-in (50/100 blinds) NL Hold'em Tourney, 6 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

BTN: 2,933 (29.3 bb)
SB (SB): 5,340 (53.4 bb)
BB: 4,469 (44.7 bb)
UTG: 2,685 (26.9 bb)
MP: 8,358 (83.6 bb)
CO: 385 (3.9 bb)

Pre-Flop: SB is SB with
UTG calls 100, MP folds, CO raises to 385 and is all-in, BTN calls 385, SB folds, BB calls 285, UTG calls 285

Flop: (1,590) (4 players, 1 is all-in)
BB checks, UTG checks, BTN bets 100, BB raises to 200, UTG calls 200, BTN calls 100

Turn: (2,190) (4 players, 1 is all-in)
BB checks, UTG checks, BTN bets 500, BB folds, UTG calls 500

River: (3,190) (3 players, 1 is all-in)
UTG bets 1,600 and is all-in, BTN calls 1,600

Results: 6,390 pot
UTG showed (a flush, King high) and lost (-2,685 net)
BTN showed (a full house, Kings full of Fives) and won 6,390 (3,705 net)
CO showed (a full house, Fives full of Kings) and lost (-385 net)

My definition of a "fish" in poker is someone who keeps biting at the line you are throwing even if they know they may get "caught." I've always heard that a fish has 5 second memory...lol. I see a lot of this at the tables. How many times have you tossed the bait and caught the same fish over and over again?

Hey Dump, ive always thought of a fish as a weak player and a chaser being a donkey hence id much rarther play against a fish as they are passive where as some Donkeys can be aggressive.
Ive read there are 4 types of players "sharks" tight aggressive "rocks" tight passive" maniacs" loose aggresive annnd "fish" loose passive.
U are a chaser huh ill remember that if i ever get u across the felt he he.
John Vorhaus. simplifies the labels even further saying there are really only 2 types of players "risk affined" and "risk averse" risk affined players are always looking for reasons to call where as Risk averse players are looking for reasons to fold and i like that one Im a classic Risk averse player and i have a poker buddy who is risk affined and im always giving him curry about it lol
as for whether u r a fish for calling allin with a draw i guess the simple answer is if the call is Positive EV u are a good player if it's Negative EV then u r a big fat donkey fish lol Gl at the tables peace out

When I play cash games...I am the very definition of a 'fish'. Don't get too excited folks. I rarely play cash and if i do it's penny poker for a few hands. Playing solid is raising 8 out of 10 hands. Chase anything, follow to the river, bluff like crazy and really on luck. Stuff like that. What is more amazing is that people chase me out of the game!!! I don't get that, I would think you would want someone like me to stick around.....but i guess some people ego/insecurity is more important.

hey
Fish= negative ev player.
Donkey= a name to call sum1 that has just sucked out on us 4 the 10th time that sesh, and we reach our steampoint!!!! BAM
BIG MERV!!!

A fish is a player that looks absolutly tasty at the tables! Makes alot of mistakes ...most likely a newbie. You can spot these players by the way they bet raise ect. Alot of them are notorious for playing out of position with ZERO patience.If you want to see a school of fish enter a freeroll...

is there anyone who would admint HE IS a fish?

A fish can be anybody who dont care about play and a donkey

Occasionally, it can be quite profitable, to be perceived as a fish.


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Fish is not the same as Donkey, please do not make that mistake.

Donkey is unpredictable, random, non sensical.

Fish is the one percieved as easy money, due to being predictable.
eg plays any Ace rag, pictures or pairs and draws all the way to the river.
So you make money by betting all the way to the river (but remember to fold if the fish hits).

And yes as above some fish can be predators too on occasion utilising their image.

Fish can eat and be eaten.
Donkeys are just a kick in the Ass.

Would have to agree that a fish is someone who lacks poker skills, but calling people names is kind of showing your inability to accept a bad beat. I might say something about the beat being sick or something like that but never about a player themselves.

Take care

To me fish is someone who really sucks in poker and has no idea what she/he is doing...someone who calls any bet any raise with any cards and hoping to get lucky and the sad part is that many of them do get lucky and beat your killer hand with some crap...worste of the all is that many poker sites seems to be awarding they game...FISH really annoying players

A fish is killed by a shark in a poker game