Bullys

I hate when I am on a micro cash table and get seated next to a player who should probably be playing at a higher stakes table but they are sitting there raising ridiculous amounts preflop every hand; blocking any chance of limping in with connectors.

Rather than moaning about how other players play, perhaps you need to work on being able to adapt your game depending on who is sitting at the table.

Its a cash game, just find another table?

And don't limp in, that is one of the first things you should learn.

Punish with great cards...

For one limping in FTA is not a profitable move. If this guy is betting crazy amounts you will just need to fold the hand and thats not good as well. I personally hate when I have a player like this at the table but smile and take there chips if possible. You don't need to wait for a premium hand but when I am against this type of player i push back with any reasonable hand. Many times they will fold and sometimes they will call you with the craziest type of hands. The thing is he has garbage most of the time so take advantage of him. Pockets tens, All in, AJs all in. Just take a decent quality hand and smack them with it. yes there is more variance but it will be in your favor long term. If he wants to call you with ten 7 off so be it.

ken nielson said:

For one limping in FTA is not a profitable move. If this guy is betting crazy amounts you will just need to fold the hand and thats not good as well. I personally hate when I have a player like this at the table but smile and take there chips if possible. You don't need to wait for a premium hand but when I am against this type of player i push back with any reasonable hand. Many times they will fold and sometimes they will call you with the craziest type of hands. The thing is he has garbage most of the time so take advantage of him. Pockets tens, All in, AJs all in. Just take a decent quality hand and smack them with it. yes there is more variance but it will be in your favor long term. If he wants to call you with ten 7 off so be it.

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I agree with Ken, might add the following

1. Like real life punch that bully in the nose. If he punches back harder...run lol
2. Bullying is a strategy and if I sense my table is full of very patient players and/or newer players I use it and sometimes it works great, other times I get caught in a hand I feel obligated to stay in, etc...again as Ken alludes to the bully will eventually run into someone bigger and badder
3. If its micro stakes...sit back and watch. I don't think you learn much at free roll tables of $10 or less but as the stakes go up so does the quality

Good luck and have fun!

Define Bully! Is he in every hand, minraising or cbetting every flop?
Is he playing only once in 2 orbits and raising for 4+bb?

Or is he in every hand, raising huge from every position.

If its the later, congratulations, you hit a gold mine. Wait untill you have position on him and play a tight range. Don't!!! mindlessly shove with trash like weak Aces or low pocket pairs to "show him who's the boss". Don't gamble, there is no need to go broke agains a maniac.

Be patient, wait for JJ+, AQ+, KQ, take him to the flop IN POSITION and harvest him there. Obviously shove KK and AA, but even with QQ I often just call and shove when the board doesn't have an A or a K. Just hope that nobody else stacks him before you do or at least he reloads a bunch of times.


If you dont want to adjust and keep limping...well, look for an other table, you're not ready for the money rain


Edit: one last thing. Could it be that he is sitting to your right? If so he might just punishing you and your mates for limping in with trash. In this case, he is just better than you and there is no way for you to beat him yet. Look for another table.

What is the problem? If you think your opponent is playing badly, just win his money.

Pokericon08 said:

I hate when I am on a micro cash table and get seated next to a player who should probably be playing at a higher stakes table but they are sitting there raising ridiculous amounts preflop every hand; blocking any chance of limping in with connectors.

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1. Don't limp.
2. Work on your postflop game, and only get involved with your value hands that are ahead of his range. You will pick him off eventually and get his entire stack.

Andrei Korolev said:

Punish with great cards...

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I totally agree with this! Just be patient and get them when you have a great hand.

suited connectors are raising hands esp in late pos.-as for thebully patience is key eventauly youll get a hand to punish with,sometimes you just have to fire back at them,and remember to never play scared poker

The responses to this thread are great!
On the upside, consider playing the "bad-beat" jackpot games where if you have the right cards and the "bully" takes you down, you'll be laughing all the way to the bank!

Joking aside, your stack is more important than your cards and observing your competition is the more important than your stack. Fearlessness and intelligence are a formidable combination at the tables.

What I don't get is when you "catch" them and re-raise, they will go all in. You call and a good bit of time get lucky, I know it is part of the game, but dam use some common sense. lol
I waited a few hands and got AA I limped and knew he would raise me all in. Sweet when they hold up, against the 38o

The first problem I see is, that you want to limp into pots.

Thats always a nogo. If u want to play a hand always raise, even if its just connectors or any bluff.

Second you have to play TAG style. Wait for good hands and then run him up.

I know why you might not like it, but in the end, this way is profitable.

To quote a famous line,

"Just out play the platinum bastard!"

It's not bully it's just aggression factor he is not personally attacking you. It's just an aggressive strategy so your options are to

1.) Adjust
2.) Or Find new table
3.) Or straight up out play the bendejo - show him a sick bluff and watch it change the dynamics of the game! Get in his/her head man this is poker! But be respectful don't try to insult his intelligence just some light banter.

Pokericon08 said:

I hate when I am on a micro cash table and get seated next to a player who should probably be playing at a higher stakes table but they are sitting there raising ridiculous amounts preflop every hand; blocking any chance of limping in with connectors.

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Why don't you try raising with them? Stop limping if you want to get better.

Pokericon08 said:

I hate when I am on a micro cash table and get seated next to a player who should probably be playing at a higher stakes table but they are sitting there raising ridiculous amounts preflop every hand; blocking any chance of limping in with connectors.

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I apologize in advance... This is exactly why we do this. It tilts the players and they spew money at us. You shouldn't be limping to begin with so we are doing you a favor

Pokericon08 said:

I hate when I am on a micro cash table and get seated next to a player who should probably be playing at a higher stakes table but they are sitting there raising ridiculous amounts preflop every hand; blocking any chance of limping in with connectors.

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Yup, it's one of the challenges of poker.

Deal with the situation and pick your spot and go with it.

Good luck !