Playing to the wrong crowd

[Dobbler1]

I look for soft competition. I seek out tables that are full of players that love to put money in the pot with somewhere between marginal hands and outright crap. If I take a strategic view of poker, table selection is step one for me. What I, on occasion, find myself doing is playing at a table as if the players are really good players, even when I've done everything in my power to ensure that I'm not. The worst offense is attempting to bluff calling stations. I've been working on that, and I do it far less frequently of late. Now I catch myself leaving value on the board by checking the nuts or near nuts on the river, hoping to induce a bluff against players that play the river straight-forwardly, which only works when they overvalue the relative strength of their hand (like thinking 2 pair is strong on a wet board).

Do you play to the wrong crowd? How does that manifest for you?

 

[spunka]

Think all want action when playing Poker else it gets a bit bored fast, after all most of play to have a good time. So I dont think that because you see a table with action on that you could in and just play you strong hands, players are not blind and most will notice that you are tighter, so you wil get less action.

So dont think because a tabel is "loose" that it have to be all newbies, some will stil make adjustment the player (not to the table as a whole), and I do think it si the single players you need to focus on not a table, of course in low stakes play will have more fun and action, because the money won or lost does not matter to them, they do play for fun and having a good time too.

So your focus should be on the player(s) not the full table unles your playing HU

 

[Ketoupitou]

Since I only play pokerstars sit & go playmoney, I don't get to choose my crowd, but I would honestly think that I would not change my style of play.

 

[FarrahnsMom]

I look for soft competition. I seek out tables that are full of players that love to put money in the pot with somewhere between marginal hands and outright crap. If I take a strategic view of poker, table selection is step one for me. What I, on occasion, find myself doing is playing at a table as if the players are really good players, even when I've done everything in my power to ensure that I'm not. The worst offense is attempting to bluff calling stations. I've been working on that, and I do it far less frequently of late. Now I catch myself leaving value on the board by checking the nuts or near nuts on the river, hoping to induce a bluff against players that play the river straight-forwardly, which only works when they overvalue the relative strength of their hand (like thinking 2 pair is strong on a wet board).

Do you play to the wrong crowd? How does that manifest for you?

I mostly play KO money tourneys but I have colour coded each player I've played with and the buy in amount and how they play at each tourney. I have no control of the players I play with but I know their style at least and most of the players are repeat players.
Also in cash games (everyone is coloured too). I've notice the difference in their strategy when it comes to dollar amount. So if I go to play a cash game, I seek out the game that hopefully has no donks in it lol I have them coloured light blue with a million notes and won't play there. If too many join in after, I'll leave. It's all about the individual players for me.

 

[Dobbler1]

So if I go to play a cash game, I seek out the game that hopefully has no donks in it lol I have them coloured light blue with a million notes and won't play there.

I don't understand why you wouldn't want to play against donks. They're the one's you can most easily exploit. Depending on the brand of donk, they can definitely increase variance, but given the option of loosing my buy-in once against someone who catches runner-runner to beat my hand, and doubling up against the same player 7 times because they didn't catch their 2 outer, I like my chances in that game.

I mean I guess I get the appeal of low variance, but I have to say that increased variance by way of super sub-optimal play is very exploitable and profitable if you can steel yourself to the suck outs you'll run into from time to time. Totally worth the trade off IMO.

 

[Dobbler1]

Think all want action when playing Poker else it gets a bit bored fast, after all most of play to have a good time. So I dont think that because you see a table with action on that you could in and just play you strong hands, players are not blind and most will notice that you are tighter, so you wil get less action.

So dont think because a tabel is "loose" that it have to be all newbies, some will stil make adjustment the player (not to the table as a whole), and I do think it si the single players you need to focus on not a table, of course in low stakes play will have more fun and action, because the money won or lost does not matter to them, they do play for fun and having a good time too.

I don't mean to say that because a table has lots of action that makes every player especially loose, or even that all loose players are total fish. If however a table is loose, there will be at least one, if not more, loose players that can be exploited. The idea that the correct way to exploit loose players is to be a super-nit I think is wrong, but I can assure you that loose players are definitely exploitable, and the more loose the more exploitable. So I agree that you need to play your opponent, but I look for loose, splashy opponents by looking for loose, splashy tables, and when I'm on my game, I turn their looseness against them. However, the point of my thread is more about when I'm not playing my best game and I play the player wrong.

 

[zer0c00l23]

There is an important fact that you are not taking into consideration: “the variance”
You can play at a table or a tournament where there are a lot of rookies, and they will almost always go all-in with whatever they have, with marginal and mediocre cards. Your bet value stack (XBB) will be crushed if you don't take the variance, equity, odds, outs, the position into account. Newbies didn't consider mathematics and variables in a poker game and are they and will be the triumph of a good player who analyzes his game, or have you ever lost with AA against a 72nd?

 

[Dobbler1]

There is an important fact that you are not taking into consideration: “the variance”

Why do you think I'm not taking it into consideration?

 

[zer0c00l23]

Why do you think I'm not taking it into consideration?

Dude, you'll say I'm crazy but you're right, my English is a little rusty, and when I put on the translator I read the thread correctly: ROFLMAO: a thousand apologies... but can I ask you, why do you say that you play at the wrong tables? If you have a good bankroll play freely at an NLH50 or MTT/SNG table of $100 tickets... there if you are going to find more serious players in the game... in freerolls and at tables with minimum stakes you will find many newbies who want to increase their winnings by pure luck! , don't fall for that, if you know how to exploit those vulnerabilities well for yourself, but in reality you don't grow as a player but you get stuck at a professional level. Raise your level a piece of advice from me... no hard feelings about the mistake made?

 

[LUKADONCICMVP]

i play any games i don´t care for the crowd

 

[Dobbler1]

why do you say that you play at the wrong tables?

I think the English still needs some work, because I didn't say that. Honestly, I can't really make out most of what you're trying to say in your last post after this sentence. No offense taken and none unintended, but maybe there's not much point to a discussion until the English gets better?