Recognizing Weak Player Tips

It is important for every poker player to know how to recognize a fish. These are the players that you will be isolating so that you can take their money. These players make more bad plays than most and you need to take advantage of them to truly maximize your expected value while at the tables. This wouldn’t be such an important factor if there weren’t so many bad players who visit online poker rooms. A great poker room that has a lot of fish is PokerStars. Right now when you sign up for an account at PokerStars using our PokerStars MARKETING CODE you will receive a 100% on up to $500 first time PokerStars deposit bonus.

Here is our list of the top five tips to recognize the weak player at the table. By utilizing these tips and isolating the weak player you will be able to win more by taking advantage of the weak player. This will show a great increase in your poker bankroll.

Top Five Tips for Recognizing Weak Players

1. Less Than Full Buy In – When a player sits down at the table with less than a full buy-in you can normally count this player as a fish. In theory you want to have the maximum allowed at a table so that you can win the maximum amount off of your opponents. When a player shows you that they don’t realize this you should realize that they are a weak player and start isolating them.
2. Posting Out of Position – When a player posts their blinds out of position this is normally a sure fire sign of the player being weak. It is a waste of money to post your blinds out of position because all you would have to do is wait a few more hands and you will be able to come in without having to pay extra. Posting out of position normally means that the player is going to make a lot of plays that are based on simply wanting to be in the action. Since this is the case, give this player a lot of action by isolating them and playing as many hands with them as you can. They are a weak ignorant player.
3. Constant Limping – Limping into a hand is another 100% sign that a player is weak. Limping into a hand shows weakness in general, but when a player is constantly limping in you know that they are not playing good hands. This does not mean that your opponent will not show up with a decent hand every now and then and that they will not hit the flop now and then. Since limping in is a sign that your opponent is naturally passive you should be wary of when they switch gears and start betting at you on the flop. Make sure you proceed with caution in this position. Make sure that you are isolating this player when they are limping. You will get a lot of value from them calling your bet and then folding to a continuation bet on most flops.
4. Chat Box – You should never be using the chat box while you are playing online poker. You can keep it open so you can see when players are steaming, but stay out of the conversation. You want to go as unnoticed as possible. When you notice a player is talking in the chat box a lot you can normally count them as a weak player. If the player is taking their focus from what is happening at the table and putting it on what is being said at the table they are not paying full attention and you should punish them for this. Take notes that you think the player is weak and then look for more information to support this. This isn’t a positive way to spot a weak player, but for the most part you can count that it is.
5. Tapping the Glass – The most common way to spot a weak player is if they are berating another player. If a player makes a bad play sucking out on another player and that player then starts to lecture them on how bad they are you can 100% guarantee that this player is weak. No player in their right mind would tell their opponent when they are making bad plays. You win the most money by extorting these flaws. If the player is alerted that they are making bad plays they could change how they are playing, or even worse, leave the table. When a player starts berating another player it is time for you to use the chat box. Make sure that you tell the player who is berating the other one that they need to stop. This will make the other weak player feel like they are the good guy and they will more than likely want to stay at the table because they have your support. You should also do as much as you can to tell the player that the plays that they are making are fine. Say something along the lines of, “Well, you won the hand didn’t you? You must be doing something right!” This will encourage them to continue to make bad plays. This way you will still be able to isolate this player to take their money and you will also know that the other player is weak as well. This leaves you at a table with two identified weak players. Enjoy taking their money.