Winners Attack Weak Players

Poker is a predatory game, and all successful predators attack the weak. If wolves and lions did not attack weak prey, they would starve. So, they pick on babies, cripples, and pregnant females.

You may dislike thinking of yourself as a predator, but if you don’t act like one, you won’t make much money. Worse yet, if you attack stronger players, you will lose. Of course, if you have the best hand, you should attack anybody, but you need a much better hand against strong players. They will usually have good cards and will play them well, while weak players often have poor cards and misplay them.

Winners always see who has entered the pot before committing themselves. If a strong player is already in, they may fold cards that they normally would play. If only weak players are in, they may raise with weaker hands than usual to keep the stronger players out. Attacking weakness is standard strategy. Barry Shulman wrote, “Poker is all about picking on the weak. It may be weak hands, weak players, or just weak play.” (“Shulman Says,” Card Player, Oct. 24, 2003).

Which Players Should You Attack?
The answer, of course, is, “It depends.” Almost anyone can beat drunks and calling stations, while other types may be weak for you, but not for me (and vice versa). For example, because I’m conservative, I have problems with aggressive, tricky players. Conversely, if you’re an aggressive gambler who beats wild players, you may lose to tighter ones.

Evolution has hard-wired animal predators to attack certain prey but leave others alone. Since you don’t have that automatic recognition ability, you should analyze your own style, strengths, and weaknesses to decide which players are your “natural prey.”

Once you have identified them, pick the games, seats, and tactics that favor you. For example, if you do well against maniacs, look for wild games, sit to the left of the biggest maniacs, and raise and reraise to isolate them. If weak-tight no-limit hold’em players are your natural prey, wait until their hand is clearly defined and the board is scary, then take the pot away from them.

Of course, you should not attack only your natural prey. The more players you can beat, the better. So, keep trying to learn how to beat new kinds of players.

When Do Players Become Vulnerable?
Nearly everyone’s vulnerability changes frequently. After reading a book or getting coaching, a calling station may give you a nasty surprise. Or, he may get sick of being a victim and decide to fight back.

Today’s results can dramatically change many players’ vulnerability. A bad beat or large loss can put tough players on tilt, and a rush can briefly convert a calling station into a tough, aggressive opponent. You therefore should keep asking, “How well is he playing now?”

If your natural prey starts fighting back effectively, pick on somebody else. If a tough player is on tilt, push hard to exploit and prolong his weakness. If a player you could easily read and control becomes unreadable and unpredictable, back off, study his play until you can read and control him, and then attack in a new way.

How Do You Alienate Your Natural Prey?
You can’t exploit people who won’t play with you, but countless players drive away their best “customers.” If businesses treated customers the way that some players treat weak players, they would go bankrupt. For example, players are often criticized, embarrassed, and even humiliated, especially after delivering a bad beat. “You imbecile! You should stop playing poker!”

You can also lose their action if they don’t enjoy playing with you. Some bad players want to socialize and gamble, but many good players won’t do it. They ignore their questions and small talk, complain if they don’t play quickly, or just refuse to gamble with them. Socializing costs you little or nothing, and a small loss from an occasional gamble can yield big dividends.

David Fromm and Ray Zee are successful high-stakes players who wrote:
“Gamble with them when the conditions are right … Don’t play foolishly, but you can gamble a bit … in close situations, even when you have slightly the worst of it. They want action, and you’re giving it to them …

“If you do all the things we recommend, the weak players will want to play with you. They will spend more time in your games … and they will give you more action … They know they are giving away an edge, but it’s fun, and they’re there for fun. The best thing you can ever hear from a live one is, ‘Come over here and sit down’ or ‘Let’s get a big game going.’” (World Class High-Stakes and Shorthanded Limit Hold’em, not yet published)

Which “Irrational” Motives Affect Your Play?
I’m using a narrow definition: Anything that reduces profits is “irrational,” even if it satisfies other motives. Irrational motives affect everyone’s play, even yours, and the more clearly you understand your own motives, the more rationally you will act. I’ll discuss a few motives that prevent some people from attacking weakness:

Sexual attraction and personal relationships: Both men and women often let these motives blunt or even eliminate their attacks on certain weak players.

Chivalry, sportsmanship, and a desire to “fight fair”: Some people dislike exploiting weak players. They pull their punches or don’t punch at all when an opponent seems too vulnerable. They also may want to prove that they can beat tough players, or feel that it’s no fun beating up weak ones.

Frustration about bad beats: Calling stations are very easy to beat, but they can also be extremely frustrating. No matter what you do, they will call, call, call, and occasionally draw out on you. Some players get so frustrated that they won’t play in loose-passive games, or they underplay their hands. A friend said that he knew a calling station was on a flush draw, but he didn’t bet the turn because “she always makes flushes against me.” Since she was a 4-1 underdog, his position was absurd, but not that uncommon.

Love of fun and gambling: Profitable poker is pretty boring work. You have to fold, fold, fold, constantly study the other players, calculate the expected value of various options, and do lots of other unpleasant tasks. Then, when something goes wrong, you have to shrug it off, stay focused, and continue to play properly. It’s more natural and enjoyable to socialize, play many hands, make fancy plays, and so on.

The Bottom Line
If your other motives are more important to you than your profits, do whatever satisfies you. But recognize and accept that doing so will cost you money, perhaps a lot of it. If you want to maximize your winnings, ignore these other motives, identify your natural prey, and then when you have an edge, attack ruthlessly.

To learn more about yourself and other players, you can buy Dr. Schoonmaker’s books, Your Worst Poker Enemy and Your Best Poker Friend, at CardPlayer.com.