The Fish - Guide To Poker Players

'Fish' is a popular term used by poker players to describe those lads and lasses that really don't have much of a clue when it comes to playing poker. It can be down to being a beginner or simply be somebody that never got the hang of the game. Fish have very little understanding of their hand and even less of the probability that it will win them the game.

For example, a 'Fish' may think that flopping bottom pair in a three or four handed game is good simply because it's a pair! They don't consider over pairs on the board, higher pocket pairs, potential straights, flushes or even look at the betting strategy of opponents to develop awareness for how they play the game.

Fish have less ability to consider the hands of the others around the table and because of this tend to call far too much. Players like that will rarely give up, always thinking that their own hand is good enough, ignoring all the signs to the contrary. So what else do 'Fish' do that puts them into this category?

Firstly they limp into the majority of hands even if they hold completely rubbish cards. Secondly they call a pre-flop raise also with terrible cards (mostly out of the false hope that comes with wanting to see the blind!). Thirdly they will always pay off the river. If you get a fish to this stage i.e. at the river, then don't bother to bluff because he will always call! Of course you can always use this to your advantage to get more chips - provided you actually have a winning hand.

Fish are easy prey in the world of poker and can, more often then not, be found at the lower end tables. But let's be honest - we've all been there in the beginning, concentrating only on our own hand, insisting on seeing every flop “Just in case” and have studied our own two cards so much that we completely neglected to think about anybody else. So go easy, we've all been fish at some point!

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