Mind Over Poker

You’ll often hear professional players say that they would much rather play against another pro than an amateur. The rationale is that the amateur is entirely too unpredictable, since he doesn’t know what he’s doing. At the risk of greatly simplifying the makeup of the inexperienced player, I’d like to recommend two tips in this column when it comes to playing the inexperienced player.

First, if a player wants to give away his chips, let him. Next, if a player wants to hold on to his chips, take them. These tips go hand in hand, but I think players often find them to be counterintuitive. Let’s look at them in greater detail. The first maxim refers to those players who are playing very loose, hoping to catch a hand. They will occasionally hit a hand and win a big pot, which will provide enough positive reinforcement to further fuel their poor play.

So, how do you play against them? Try to isolate them preflop when you have position or cards, and then play poker. If you have a medium-strength hand or better, value-bet or let your opponent bet for you. Value-bets can often be fairly large in these situations. If you come up short after the flop, don’t force the action unless you sense that the pot is yours for the taking. The mistake I see players make is that they salivate upon seeing the inexperienced loose player, and they want to make sure that they get his chips before someone else does. They end up forcing the action, and they get miffed when the poor player calls down their bluff with middle pair. Remember, these are the players who give credence to the time-honored truism, “You can’t bluff a sucker.”

So, save your bluffs for the players who treat their chips like they’re next month’s mortgage payment. Again, you still want to try to isolate these players when you can. However, once you do, value-betting becomes a dicey proposition unless you have a very strong hand. The best thing to do is probe and see where you are. If you sense weakness, go for it. Otherwise, put on the brakes. Don’t semibluff draws if you are getting resistance. Instead, you may be able to draw cheaply or even for free, as these opponents will often underbet their hands. If they are ahead, they often won’t price you out. They are risk-averse, and don’t understand that by betting less, they are actually increasing their risk.

Generally speaking, the loose player will give away a lot more chips in a shorter time period. However, where more experienced players get into trouble is letting their greed get the better of them. They falsely believe that they can just take those chips, since they are the more skilled player. It doesn’t work that way. You have to remain patient and look for the right opportunity to put yourself on the receiving end of the loose player’s generosity. Save your chip-taking skills for those players who want to hoard their chips.

David Apostolico is the author of several poker-strategy books, including Tournament Poker and The Art of War. You can contact him at [email protected].