How can you tell novices at a table?

Hi everyone,

How can you tell who are the strong/weak players at a table?

I have been playing for a few weeks and I am sure the experienced players can tell I am still learning the game but how do we gie it away and how do I know if there are others players as inexperienced as me?

The best disguise for a poker rookie to wear at the table, in my opinion, is to play really tight. Keep your game simple. Play big hole cards only. (If you're not sure what constitutes legitimate "big holes", do yourself a favor and pick up a good poker book.) Don't put yourself in the situation of having to make difficult decisions with marginal hands.

If you've been at the table for an hour or so, have folded most of your starters, and have played strong hands aggressively, not only will you enjoy more success...you will also have earned some respect from more experienced opponents. It allows you to loosen up your play later on, experiment with some less sturdy cards, and maybe throw down a bluff or two.

Nothing says "fish" quite so loudly as reckless abandon with rags and draws.

i think i'm not that experienced but when i play against kids who are "callhappy" i figure they are new to the game like they will never raise or fold a limp in or even any sort of hand they like to play anything even jsut one face card so as time moves on the people who just call everything and call all sorts of draws seem to be newer players

The strong players are the ones who always seem to win a pot when they play a hand.

I mean consistantly as well not someone getting lucky 5 hands in a row with any 2 cards (this is the loose guy)

Generally the tighter the player (less flops they see) the better they tend to be. That is just a general guideline though, some players are loose and still manage to play well.

Anyone who calls to the river a lot and loses a lot of hands is generally a bad player and will pay off your hands, just don't try and bluff them though ;]

You should be able to tell who the novices are at a table within the first 30-60 minutes. You will be able to pick up patterns in betting with the weaker players (and even some strong ones), as well as recognizing that many bad players pay no attention to position. Try and single these players out and ATTACK.

Fish

I like the quote" If you can't find the fish at the table then you are the fish"

Betting patterns are the 1st sign, good players know when to speed up and slow down. Good players also know when to lay down hands or call for pot odds as opposed to calling every bet until showdown. You are never pot commited, lose the battle to win the war. If a guy bluffs you out of the pot, don't go on tilt, just remember the history of the hand and use it against them later with a check-raise or a re-raise.

look for a lot of weak players, that is they only call but don't raise or checkraise.

chicubs1616 said:

You should be able to tell who the novices are at a table within the first 30-60 minutes.

Click to expand...

YES! They're gone! LOL

You can always tell who the beginners are in that they will call with most anything... especially draws. When they fold you can see conflict in their eyes, and more importantly they almost NEVER raise, and when they do, its generally an all-in pre-flop because they do not know yet that you only raise 3-4 times the big blind, no matter the hand preflop. Calling is always a weak strategy and should very rarely be used. Your 2 main options in poker is folding or raising.

I agree with RammerJammer... Playing tight is defintiely key. A more experienced player is more likely to gamble only when he/she needs to. The suited connectors are good cards to play, but not when your trying to make a statement about your play. Another important play is to know when to make a move with the smaller hole cards like your 2's - 6's. If someone acts ahead of you with a submountable raise thats possibly half your stack or puts you all in. Odds are they have a larger pair or two over cards. The low pairs are hard to get away from, but just because someone is pushing their chips in the pot like you thought u might do, doesn't mean you have to do it. Wait until you catch a premium pair and make your move.