In the Mind of a Fish

[Fernando_RO]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

 

[Quaresma]

Fish's players are easy to recognize and unpredictable in terms of range perception. They limp a lot, raising preflop above 2.5bb. I recommend facing them only with value hands like top pair AQ+. Don't try to bluff against them as most of the time they will call with second or third pair and suck at you.

 

[Joe]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

You seem to be asking how to detect a fish, but at the same time say it is difficult for you to play against a fish...

If you are asking how to tell a fish from a reg, I.E. you aren't entirely sure how to do that, then how do you know it's difficult playing against one?

Are you identifying after the fact that you were playing against a fish and that it was difficult?

For me the question and statement seem contradictory.

Perhaps I have misunderstood though and you can expand on your question and statement...

Once I feel clear I'll be happy to answer you the best I can!

 

[Fernando_RO]

You seem to be asking how to detect a fish, but at the same time say it is difficult for you to play against a fish...

If you are asking how to tell a fish from a reg, I.E. you aren't entirely sure how to do that, then how do you know it's difficult playing against one?

Are you identifying after the fact that you were playing against a fish and that it was difficult?

For me the question and statement seem contradictory.

Perhaps I have misunderstood though and you can expand on your question and statement...

Once I feel clear I'll be happy to answer you the best I can!

I never said that I couldn't identify a fish, or at what point could you read that? The only statement that I says was that it's difficult for me to play with a fish, I don't see anything contradictory in the statement I made, I think it's important not to try to draw conclusions lightly,

Is it necessary to know nothing about a topic in order to be able to ask about one topic?
You can also learn something not only from your own experience, can also learn from observation and from other people's experiences, so it doesn't make sense to say that you have to play against a fish to know that it's complicated, it's not the only way.

I think you're focusing too much on my statement, that in the same sense as the post, I'm only interested in knowing how do people play or face a fish? , and since I know that I am not an expert and I like to learn, I think that my concept of fish may not be the correct one, so I ask how do you identify a fish?

Sometimes it's easier for many to criticize or demerit other people or things than to actually help them. Maybe we don't know the whole context or the situation of the other person. Perhaps the other person may not be 100% fluent in English, because this is not their native language, which can also cause a lot of confusion when communicating.

 

[BOXING71]

I think that all players are fish. This is a metaphor that is used to play poker. Bad players play badly. What does bad mean? Worse than you.. You need to find someone who plays worse than you and understand what he is wrong about

 

[Andyreas]

Since I've been playing around with ChatGPT this morning, here's the answer from AI to your question:



... adjust your strategy accordingly.

 

[Rost]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

Regardless of who my opponents are, I always follow a few simple principles. I rarely bluff, and I don't play with junk. I always take into account my position and consider the position of my opponents. I don't risk it if there are no good reasons for it. And perhaps the most important thing is that I always try to be patient and stay focused.

 

[amonlima]

Playing against fish is the easiest thing ever! If you are not able to play against them, you are probably one too, against them we shouldn't be bluffing, just extracting value from the strongest hands, having patience against them is fundamental. When you see them going all in, opening 5x, making bizarre moves, we've already identified that they are fish.

 

[Joe]

I never said that I couldn't identify a fish, or at what point could you read that? The only statement that I says was that it's difficult for me to play with a fish, I don't see anything contradictory in the statement I made, I think it's important not to try to draw conclusions lightly. …

Ok, well this is where we might reach a fork in the road and are at risk of falling into a loop, because my post does not state that you cannot identify a fish either, and no conclusions have been drawn…

In fact, quite the opposite, rather than any conclusion or evaluation, my reply asks exploratory questions and for clarification.

The perceived contradiction (from my perspective*) is not in the statement itself, but rather with the question and statement together. Does that make sense?

…

Is it necessary to know nothing about a topic in order to be able to ask about one topic?
You can also learn something not only from your own experience, can also learn from observation and from other people's experiences, so it doesn't make sense to say that you have to play against a fish to know that it's complicated, it's not the only way.

…

No, it’s not necessary, but to some degree it’s more likely that in the quest for further or new knowledge we are more likely to ask questions we don’t know the answers to rather than those which we do.

Yes, there are many ways to learn, I agree. Without necessarily being entirely sure how anyone else learns compared to myself, presumably it mostly involves; initial curiosity, paying attention, careful observation, analysis and having an open mind.

Apologies, “it doesn't make sense to say that you have to play against a fish to know that it's complicated” is definitely a ‘lost in translation’ issue because that was not said or implied.

…

I think you're focusing too much on my statement, that in the same sense as the post, I'm only interested in knowing how do people play or face a fish? , and since I know that I am not an expert and I like to learn, I think that my concept of fish may not be the correct one, so I ask how do you identify a fish?

…

Sometimes my focus strays from central, peripheral and wanders off with the fairies- I’ll be the first to admit that…

We’d be wise not to linger or dance around the mouth of that particular rabbit hole though!

After all this, we finally reach the crux of the issue:-

How to play against and identify a fish…

Thankfully, as I’m meandering and doddering around the subject like a particularly-demented geriatric, you’ve received some good responses on the issue already, I particularly liked and enjoyed Andyreas’ post with ChatGPT’s offerings.

Personally, I lean towards bet-sizing in various situations coupled with observations made at showdown. Also behaviour at the table can be telling too.

It’s worth noting that there are different types/levels of ‘fish’ who will not play and react in the same way.

Ultimately you can get away with plays against fish that wouldn’t against more experienced players but you need to be quite sure whether their disposition is nitty, laggy or whatever the case might be and then play accordingly.

*Saying there seems to be a contradiction (from my point of view) is quite different to stating that something is unequivocally contradictory.

 

[JappsPK]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

I consider myself a big fish!

- I just dont care winning or losing, soo i can go all-in with you with crazy cards.
- I limp more than others sometimes or i just can be very very tight.
- Sometimes i can bluff more.
- I dont pay attention to the table very often, because i play watching tv, movies, etc. Soo, i cant exploit you very much.
- Etc.

 

[G0930]

I think I'm some kind of hybrid .
Depends on my mood if I play like a fish or not.
Especially micro to lowstakes it sometimes takes out all the fun playing only serious cause very often it doesn't even pays off cause people gamble way too much in said buy ins . Especially in PKO lol
So I'd say I'm a Fishy Eagle

 

[horscht22]

U can only catch a fish if u are a good fisherman Seriously u have to play tight and with a strong range against them, but of course u need some luck against them

 

[Miguel Chacon]

There are many types of fishes like in the post of @Andyreas you have to adjust your strategy accordingly, for example, against loose passive fish you can play a tighter range and get value from most medium and strong hands, against a fish tight tight like a rock you can usually open wide your range and steal from them a lot of small pots and easy fold when they hit it will be easy to read when they have a big hand they just won't fold or will be aggressive, you have to read the TYPE of fish it's the important thing to adjust your strategy, in poker you can always play the same or you'll be a fish and loss money in the long run... always learning, always adapting to the situation.

I remember a situation playing against a Rock our stack were like 200 BB on cash game, I was on UTG with KK and make a normal OR behind me a crazy loose player goes all in with 60BB of course I was calling Happy but there was this rock player on the button pushes 200BB I'm like we're deep I know he has AA, and with all my guts I fold KK the flips opens and I was right because of the reading I had from that tight fish I could make a good fold in there... not sure of all if it was perfectly correct, but if I put him on a Range of AA or KK that situation with my Kings it's not profitable

hope my experience helps you

 

[AlphaCentauro]

If you don’t know who is the fish at the table, chances are you are the fish 😂

 

[black and]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

There are different types of fish, and there is even one that can bite
Even if there is an effective strategy for playing against the fish, which I highly doubt, then what are you going to do with donkeys at your table?

 

[Aballinamion]

If you don’t know who is the fish at the table, chances are you are the fish 😂

This is a quote of the movie Rounders, 1998, a very good movie which shows the greatest flaw a fish can do: bet more than it should.
Well @Andyreas posted ChatGPT and hardly I could add something valuable after that.
In other words a fish is a player that has tendency to give you money! For cash tables, I can say that you can easily spot a fish by the sizing of its stack: 90% of players at a cash table with less than a 100 blinds of stack tends to be a fish.
Fishes love to play a lot of hands passively: they will limp several times into the pot. Although there’s the aggro fish, instead of limping it would be raising more than it should.
Fishes have no idea about position and about range reading/opponent reading: if they think they have a hand they will bet, although it’s more frequent for fishes to simply call.
I know fish because I feel myself one big fish. Having information about my weaknesses I can easily spot the flaws of others. I started playing as a fish, knowing basically only the rules of poker, so when I want to identify a fish I just look into myself.
A real fish never learn from its own mistakes, it will keep doing what it think it’s best. Fishes don’t use poker forums and don’t read books or make analysis: they play for fun, they are recreational, they are watching TV, drinking beer and playing poker simultaneously.
As professor @John A says in his book “Polished Poker Vol I”, fishes like to pursuit weak aces, they think any ace is good to play of any given position. Others like to pursuit any kind of flushes either baby flushes or nutted flushes, others seek straight draws and gutshots equally, as they had the same equity, a “whale” is the kind of fish which has all of these flaws combined into its gameplay.
Pay attention to which type of hands your opponents have at the showdown, and make notes out of it. Thus it will become easier to identify if the fish is addicted to any ace, is it is a flush or draw chaser, etc.
I strongly recommend you to read Polished Poker Vol I, it has a great insight about fishes psychology and bad tendencies.
Best regards

 

[fundiver199]

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish

"Fish" is a word used for a bad poker player. Usually someone, who is either completely new to the game, or they are just playing for fun and dont spend time reading poker books or watching training videos or anything like that. So you basically look for players, who do anything, which is not a good strategy:

* Limping into pots except from SB in games with antes
* Using bet sizes that are way to small or way to large
* Chasing after bad draws
* Overvaluing hands like top pair bad kicker
* Making ill adviced bluffs
* Showing down bad hands, that should have been folded preflop
* Donk betting on flops, that favour the opponent

In cash games you can add:

* Posting instead of waiting for the blinds
* Playing with a broken stack like 62BB instead of the full 100BB
* Buying in for an odd amount like 7,42$

For people using a HUD the main things to look for is:

* High VPIP (>40% for ring games)
* Large gap between VPIP and PFR

and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

This is a statement, which is as old as poker itself, and its always made by people, who are serious about the game but also new and inexperienced. Or to say it in the less politically correct way: by bad regs. It has led to cliches like "maybe I should move up, where they respect my raises". But the harsh reality is, that if you cant beat the worst players in the game, then you have no chance of beating good players in more expensive games.

And its largely an emotional problem. So if I am to give only one advice, then it is to understand and truly accept, that the best player dont always win in poker, and that this is ok. In fact its not only ok, its the very reason, why its possible to make money. So its ok if the fish get lucky on you and river his gutshot or a random two pair like T2. This old video on the topic by CC member Evan Jarvis is still very relevant today:

 

[steve01991]

i keep notes on most players i encounter, for me, a fish is someone who constantly stays in , hoping he will draw well. those are the players that you make pay with hefty raises.

 

[Luvepoker]

"Fish" is a word used for a bad poker player. Usually someone, who is either completely new to the game, or they are just playing for fun and dont spend time reading poker books or watching training videos or anything like that. So you basically look for players, who do anything, which is not a good strategy:

* Limping into pots except from SB in games with antes
* Using bet sizes that are way to small or way to large
* Chasing after bad draws
* Overvaluing hands like top pair bad kicker
* Making ill adviced bluffs
* Showing down bad hands, that should have been folded preflop
* Donk betting on flops, that favour the opponent

In cash games you can add:

* Posting instead of waiting for the blinds
* Playing with a broken stack like 62BB instead of the full 100BB
* Buying in for an odd amount like 7,42$

For people using a HUD the main things to look for is:

* High VPIP (>40% for ring games)
* Large gap between VPIP and PFR

This is a statement, which is as old as poker itself, and its always made by people, who are serious about the game but also new and inexperienced. Or to say it in the less politically correct way: by bad regs. It has led to cliches like "maybe I should move up, where they respect my raises". But the harsh reality is, that if you cant beat the worst players in the game, then you have no chance of beating good players in more expensive games.

And its largely an emotional problem. So if I am to give only one advice, then it is to understand and truly accept, that the best player dont always win in poker, and that this is ok. In fact its not only ok, its the very reason, why its possible to make money. So its ok if the fish get lucky on you and river his gutshot or a random two pair like T2. This old video on the topic by CC member Evan Jarvis is still very relevant today:

Once again, another great post by fundiver.

I know that there are many player profiles in poker, but I am interested in knowing, based on their experience, how to detect a fish, and what strategies you use or recommend to play against them since personally it is quite difficult for me to play against a fish.

Also, if there is someone in the forum who considers themselves to be a fish, I would like to know your perspective and know how your game logic works or what your strategies are.

Your smart in wanted to detect the fish but you should remember this, just because you label someone a fish does not mean they are one.

2005 i joined a training playing site to start my journey to becoming a better player. In my 1st tournament I played I somehow made the final table as the short stack. This one player I found to be a total donk and fish who just kept doubling me up time after time. I would know him out in 3rd and actually win my 1st ever poker tournament that day. A few days later on I decided to check out one of the pros at the sites videos and found something very interesting. The player I labeled as a fish was one of the site pro's. Today I know why I called him the fish. It was because I did not understand what he was doing or the game as much as I thought.

 

[christovam]

I consider a fish to be a player who goes all-in in the very first hands, or one who click-raises every turn.

In this case, I wait for a good hand and avoid bluffing against them especially at the beginning of a tournament, because this makes it easier for them to pay off their bets.

 

[wavetune]

I consider myself a fish, a weak player, I play poorly and based on this one can guess that the fish, in principle, cannot adhere to any strategy, to a greater extent it all depends on the mood, because at some point I understand that it is better to watch the Champions League match than to play poker,even if I signed up for a $16.5 tournament and could lose money