“Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.”
– Mike McDermott, Rounders
“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
– Ancient Proverb
Poker players intent on driving their graph upwards are hard at work looking for the game’s spots. While money trees don’t exist, they can always tell when someone is green at the table and they’re happy to see the poker fish at the felt.
In this article, I’ll show you the way we can tell you’re a fish as well as how to get the sharks off your scent.
What is a Fish in Poker?
In poker, the word “spot” is used in several capacities. One use of the term refers to a hand you’re unsure about, “I had a spot today where …” Another is used when lending or borrowing, “Spot me tree fiddy.” Another is interchangeable with “handicap.” When referring to another player, it’s interchangeable with “donkey” or “fish.” You never want to be the latter.
7 Dead Giveaways You’re A Poker Fish
To save you from being preyed on at the tables, you should know which tells are giving your fish status away. While you’re working at improving your game, removing some of these behaviors and practices will help reduce the degree to which you are being targeted.
READ MORE: Top 5 Reliable Poker Tells
1. Big Drama: It’s normal for any player to get excited when the bad beat jackpot hits or when someone turns over quads or better. However, inexperienced players tend to respond with disproportionate excitement or disappointment in run of the mill pots. For better or worse, the game hasn’t jaded them yet, resulting in big feelings. If you stand in the limelight, people will look.
2. Asking What’s Good on The Menu: This is a seemingly innocuous question, but it indicates that you aren’t a regular. Inferences can be made that you’re unaware most card rooms have a standard quality of food that ranges from bad to kind of good. Telegraphing you’re new-to-the-scene means good players will be eyeing your stack while you’re eyeing the mee goreng.
3. Playing Low Stakes Like It’s Casino Royale: Similar to the first, low stakes are exactly that — low stakes. This means they are the least stressful, serious poker games available. Be careful not to throw your shades on or put on your hoodie when you’re in a hand. While you may be nervous about giving information about your holdings, you will be giving more away to better poker players by doing so.
4. “My Favorite Poker Player is Doyle Brunson”: Players who are new to the game, tend to know some of the bigger names of the past. Rambling on with dated poker references will be a clear indicator of how novel poker is in your life. Players there to win will pick that up in an instant, looking to play more pots with you, expecting you to be inexperienced.
5. Asking the Table Bosses Their Thoughts on Your Play: Serious poker players may occasionally discuss some poker strategy at the table but usually, they’ll keep silent. Since poker is a game of information, players there to win will often keep their best thoughts hidden, so as to not give up any of their edge. Moreover, if they are uncertain about something in game, they will usually take a mental note, or jot it down on their phone for later review. Asking your competitor for their thoughts can be taken as insecurity or probing. If you demonstrate any other signs of being the spot, they will take it as insecurity and wait for their chance to getcha.
6. Short-Buying (Applicable to Cash Games): A winning player’s expectation is to win. Thus, when they sit down to play, they buy-in for max to ensure the maximum when they make a big hand. Buying in short usually means that you are improperly bankrolled for the game or a recreational, playing for fun. In either case, not a pro.
7. Bad Play: This one is fairly obvious but harder to avoid because strategic missteps are a result of inexperience and lack of study. We play bad poker because we are bad at poker. However, there are more obvious strategic mistakes you can avoid to stand out less.
- Playing Too Many Hands: While playing a lot of hands is more stimulating, it doesn’t usually win you money. This means, if the amount of hands you’ve played is notably high, you will likely be tagged a fish.
- Preflop Limping: While limping can be a part of a winning strategy, it mostly indicates that a player doesn’t understand rake considerations or how it reduces the frequency of winning the pot. This will also be taken to mean you play badly.
Being a Poker Fish is Normal
The reality is every poker player starts out as a fish. It’s level 1 in poker. Anyone who is great at something started off bad at it. Thus, being a fish isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s just part of the game. That said, if you are interested in reducing the amount you lose to experienced players, you need to learn fast. One of your best moves would be to enroll with a poker training site and improve your game.
In the meantime, you can use the tactics in this article to hide your inexperience. While they won’t stop how much money you might hemorrhage in game, they may stop your opponents from walking over with buckets.
Little Fish, stay safe out there.
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