The main aim of playing good poker is simple: to make as many correct decisions as you can. There are lots of ways you can go about that, but one unchanging fact is that your decisions are significantly easier when you’re playing worse players than yourself. So why would you ever want to chase off the soft spots at the table or point out what they’re doing wrong? It seems obvious but plenty of players do and scare the fish away from the table.
Imagine the situation. You’ve barely played a hand and you’ve only shown down Queens and a busted nut flush draw when your opponent calls your huge four-bet all-in with K-Q offsuit. You turn over Kings and end up losing to a straight on the river. This is incredibly infuriating, as getting busted when you’re a 90% favourite to scoop the pot is tough even when it’s not a huge pot. The important thing is that you got your money in well ahead, and you now know your opponent will call all-in with a wide range (so shoving with A-Q, A-K and even A-J is going to be profitable against him).
What you shouldn’t do is start berating your fishy opponent in the chat box, particularly in a cash game, as the last thing you want to do is make them feel embarrassed enough to either change their game or walk away from the table without giving you a chance to win your chips back.
No coaching for free
Some people pay a lot for poker coaching, so why would you want to give the opposition free lessons? Stop pointing out huge leaks in your opponents’ game with comments like, ‘How can you call a third of your stack with a gutshot, you massive fish?!’ You want them to keep making bad calls or shoving over the top when you have huge hands.
If you really can’t stand not to have a rant then just click on your notes section and funnel your vitriol and anger into there. Not only will it help you next time you encounter this fish, but when you’re greeted by a string of expletives at least it will make you laugh!
See also: How to keep fish at your table
See also: Speaking with the fishes