Beating bad players (not real short)

There has been a lot of discussion in another thread about beating bad players and the its easier to beat good players.

I guess the first thing I should point out is that is absurd on the face of it. How is it easier to beat a good player? If they are good then they should be harder to beat.

So I guess the argument is its easier to beat "knowledgeable" player. Or at least someone with a basic understanding of the game rather than someone who doesn't understand the game at all. This seems a little strange to me also. Why would those people be easier to beat? is it because they fold more? That seems a little strange too, because we should be making MORE money when people make BAD calls.

This about the fundamentals. Like the fundamental theorem of poker: If you would have made the same decision knowing what your opponent had you win. If your opponent would have made a different decision if they knew what you had you win (there is the converse also when you lose). By their very nature bad players make bad decisions. Good players make good decision and mediocre players make mediocre decisions.

If you are focusing on your results and you see "bad play rewarded" it can seem frustrating because you get sucked out on and lose the pot , thats pretty sad. But, if you focus on the decision and say- I lost that pot but that guy made a really bad choice calling... That is the kind of guy I want to play.

If people are routinely calling you down with middle pair you want to play against them and bet with Top pair FOR VALUE- not to make them fold.

If people are calling you with gutshots you want to play against them because you can bet FOR VALUE- again not to make them fold.

If a player is constantly putting all his money in the pot you want to play against that guy because eventually his money will be your money.

There are a number of elements to being a good player in NLHE, and a big part of it is knowing that you can make money off of worse players. Personally I like to play against people who are worse at poker than I am. I've noticed I have a track record of beating people who are not as good at this game as I am. Do I win every pot I play against a worse player? No, no one wins every pot.

Get out of the mindset that you HAVE to win this pot, the one in front of you, right now. You are not going to win them all. I don't even care if you win MOST of the pots at the table, that really doesn't matter either. Focus on winning MONEY. Money is what we use as a gauge for success in this game. Not pots. you can win a pot with expert play, amateur play, or poor play. Expert play will win the most money most of the time.

If there is a point in this long rambling OP you would like to argue I would be glad to hear it. However, I think the argument that its easier to beat a good player is outrageous. It makes no sense at all. If they are good they are harder to beat.

If you cant beat bad players then you need to plug an assload of leaks. So do it at the micros because the game is cheaper.

Well said.
A bad player will beat you once and take your whole stack when you were in good. This will make you upset and you will remember this hand. A good player will take chunks of your stack every now and then without you even realising it...

Nice post. Take the ego out of your game. Just because he's not a good player doesn't mean he can't hit a monster.

The slow bleed goes unnoticed while the donk call with 5 10 os stays with you a while. Nice post.

I have a difficult time in large MTTs figuring out the donks quickly. I used to assume based on outsized bets, but figured out that it's an effective strategy to use against the bad players when you have a monster. I love playing the bad players in ring games, SNGs or weekly tourneys. It's getting surprised by one in the big tourney that hurts.