Exploiting Recreational Players

The World Series of Poker, which never fails to attract hordes of recreational players to Las Vegas, is just around the corner. In the past I have discussed one of the most detrimental mistakes recreational players make (overvaluing decent, but non-nut hands, like top pair, top kicker), so today I will discuss how to exploit that tendency.

It is well known that a large portion of the recreational player pool is unable to fold decently strong made hands. For example, they will raise with A-K to 150 out of their 10,000 stack at 25-50, continuation bet 250 in a heads-up pot on a K J 5 board, and then find a way to get all-in after their opponent raises. They are usually shocked when they find out their A-K is in terrible shape, drawing thin or dead.

To exploit this tendency, you should become comfortable with seeing lots of flops, especially in position, against this type of player. Ideally, you want your opponent to be the type of player who rarely enters the pot, but when he does, he has a premium hand that he will not fold unless the board is incredibly scary. So, when they raise, call with a decently wide range of hands that flop well, mainly pairs, suited Aces and suited connectors.

It may be tempting to see flops with hands like K-10 and Q-J offsuit, but the unsuited marginal Broadway hands (and lower unsuited hands) should usually be folded (or three-bet as a bluff). Remember, you are trying to flop hands that beat strong top pairs, not hands that are usually dominated when they make top pair.

When you call with a hand like A 5 or 6 5 and the flop comes J 5 2, if your opponent continuation bets, while you may be behind at the moment, you are usually getting the right pot odds plus implied odds to call. If you fail to improve on the turn and your opponent continues betting, you can easily fold. If you instead had J 10 for top pair, marginal kicker, you should usually call the flop and turn and then fold to a triple barrel because most tight, straightforward players do not triple barrel as a bluff too often, meaning your top pair is in bad shape.

When you flop a marginal made hand and your opponent checks, you are usually best off checking behind or betting small, perhaps one-third pot. While checking behind will result in you occasionally getting outdrawn, it ensures you play a small pot with your marginal made hand, which is exactly what you want. Alternatively, you can bet small when checked to in order to price out various unpaired overcards that have a reasonable amount of equity while also extracting value from worse hands.

For example, if you have A 5 on (J 5 2) 3, if your opponent bet the flop and then checks the turn, you should either bet small or check behind. In general, as your marginal made hand gets stronger, you should be more inclined to bet because there are more hands you can get value from. In this example, J-10 can get value from 9-9 whereas A-5 can only realistically get value from ace-high.

When you completely miss the flop with your “drawing” hands, you should simply fold to a bet. If your opponent show extreme weakness by checking the flop and turn, it is often best to bet the turn and river as a bluff.

If you flop a draw and your opponent continuation bets, you should usually call unless you think your opponent will fold to a raise a decent amount of the time. Some players will immediately fold J J to a raise on 8 7 5 whereas others will happily blast their stacks in. If you have a hand like 10 9, you don’t want to get reraised on the flop, so calling is best if you know your opponent will try to get all-in with his overpairs. If you still have a draw on the turn and your opponent continues betting, it is usually best to call again because you will usually be getting the correct implied odds to stick around. You should at least consider raising the turn as a semi-bluff if the board is incredibly scary for an overpair and your opponent is capable of folding.

If you make the effective nuts at any point, you have to figure out if your opponent has what he thinks is an unfoldable premium hand or merely a decently strong made hand that can be folded to enough pressure. Against players who assume that you cannot have a premium hand if you call whereas you must have a premium hand if you raise, just calling your opponent’s flop and turn bet with your effective nut hands may be the best play. Calling also has the added benefit of allowing your opponent to continue “bluffing” with his unpaired hands.

Some players try to get all-in immediately with their “premium” hands. At last year’s WSOP in a $1,500 event, at 25-50 with a 7,500 stack, one of these players raised to 150 from middle position and I called on the button with 7 5. My call is certainly loose, but I think it is acceptable against this specific opponent.

Both the blinds folded. The flop came 10 7 5 and my opponent bet 500 into the 375 pot. I knew from paying attention to the previous few hands that this player was capable of betting large when he thought he had a strong hand, so I raised to 1,300. He immediately went all-in. I called (even though I lose to pocket tens) and he proudly turned up A-A. He then went on to berate me, essentially saying that only a donkey would call a preflop raise with 7-5. In reality, I knew the type of mistake he was likely to make and capitalized on it.

So, to take advantage of these players, see lots of cheap flops with pairs, suited aces, and suited connectors in position, control the size of the pot with your marginal made hands and draws, and play big pots with the effective nuts.

Good luck in your games! Be sure to say hi if you see me. ♠

Jonathan Little, 2-time World Poker Tour champion has won more than $6 million in tournaments since 2006. He is sponsored by 3bet.com, Instapoker and BlueSharkOptics and teaches poker at FloatTheTurn.com and www.JonathanLittleSecrets.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JonathanLittle.