How do you play poker with idiots?

Question

I just got done playing in a cash game, bought in for around $100 total. I did not feel comfortable playing anyone at the table. I think of myself as a solid player who doesnt play bs cards. I watched a table and a player called 1-8th of his chips with 2-4 suited then called an allin bet to make it like 60 more. Flop had a 4 and 1higher 1 lower with heart draw, they guy only had a pair of 4s and called an allin vs aq hearts. 4th street was a q and it was over. This is BAD POKER. i know that you dont just sit and play the best hands but at a table of 10 in ohio at any charity game its redic. I lost all my money with the best hand preflop 2 times, a k-5 unsuited raised my aq suited and i lost to 555 wtf is that, i dont even bother reraising pre cuz these donkeys call like its nothing. i then lost it all with 99 and a guy had ak, called my 26$ bet into a 34 pot like it was nothing. How can a good poker player win vs DONKEYS, even Phil Ivey would have had trouble winning. peace

Answer 1

I know how you feel. I just played in a local poker league last night and had to play some truly dumb players. My favorite stupid beat was I moved all in with 99 pre-flop, and someone called me with A6o. The door card was an ace, but just to rub salt in the wound her six made a straight on the river.

I am also noticing an amazing number of players who think that a premium hand is one where the two cards they are holding are the same suit. They don't seem to realize just how little of an advantage suited cards add to a random hand.

The best way to look at this situation is this. Eventually the math will always win out. If you keep playing correctly, the odds are you will eventually be ahead. Stupid bad plays that catch lucky cards, cannot keep working in the long term. Poker is not about how you did last night, it's how you did over the last year. If you made $20,000 playing poker last year, but last night lost $5,000, sure that sucks, but as long as you are consistently moving forward and increasing your bank roll, that is the sign of success you should be looking for. Not that I am advocating losing a quarter of your bank roll in one night!

Another thing I am having problems with is reading people in these donkey games. You can get a perfect read on them for being strong, and when they turn over their cards, you realize that they simply THOUGHT they were strong. They were actually too stupid to figure out what they had, and they thought that an unimproved ace high was the best hand!

The only thing you can do is try to avoid moron induced tilt and remember that if you were at a table of top professionals who were playing 'proper' poker they would kick your a55 and take your money!

One final thing. I don't think it was such a donkey play when someone called you with AK. It is a top five hand and one that a lot of players, even reasonably good players, want to get involved with pre-flop. Against a pocket pair they trail by less than 11% most of the time. Against another ace it's often 70/30 or so. Most people are going to have a tough time laying this down against a single raiser pre-flop.

Answer 2

With so many loose players you just let then have the small pots and try to play big pots with big hands. Players in low limit cash games tend to play loose. And just so you know the guy with the k-5 was not that big of a dog to your a-q. Suck-outs, bad beats, and lucky flops are all part of the game Without fish and donkeys there would be no games to play in. All you can do is get your money in with the best hand, what happens after that is up to the poker gods. Keeping your focus is key to winning, In the short run you can have bad days, and big downswings in your bankroll, but over the LONG RUN you will get the money if you play better then the others do. good luck..

Answer 3

These guys are the most profitable players you could possibly face. I would pay extra money just to play at a table full of people like this. If they're really this bad, the easiest way to win against them is just to wait for big hands preflop and bet big with them, while also trying to play pocket pairs and such for the set if you can get in cheap. If somebody wants to play K5 for their whole stack against AQ preflop then I'll let them, since they'll be a 2-1 underdog. In that spot, you'll win an average of over $30 if you get it in for $100 stacks against them.
If you can't handle losing a big stack then buy in for less like 20 or 30 times the big blind and just stick to big bets with the good hands preflop. Or you can play sit and go tournaments where these players bust out quickly when they make those horrible calls. Check out this site for more strategy.

Answer 4

Poker is tough! No doubt, and playing against below average player, can be very difficult, it's almost unpredictable. You need to adapt yourself, and keep in mind that if you always play your A game, and take good decisions, after analyzing the situation, calculate your odds, pot odds, implied odds....etc, You will be a winning poker player in the long run(keep that in mind when you lose against a unlucky river card=you take the right decision) Bad beats happen (even if in your situation 99vsAK it's not one)and sometimes, you give bad beats too. One of the big difference between a good poker player and a bad one, it's the way he react to looses, bad beats......Basically when he's unlucky. The way he control his emotions.

Now one other thing, you describe your situation as a cash games, that's a all different ball game! Some players won't mind "gamble" more in ring games vs tournaments where in each of your decisions you risk your tournament life. In ring games, the player can re-buy, and go for more.

Take care

Answer 5

the lower the buy in the more idiots play. In early tourney play more idiots will go all in with almost nothing to make a stack. So, that is a time to play tight. As the tourney progresses, say half way in, most of the idiots will be weeded out. So, you may want to mix up your play. In the late stages of the tourney you will want to go all in a lot with 10's on up, high suited connectors and even suited A?. People will play more tightly near the bubble, so you can then steal a lot of blinds and stupid bets and take some of those low stackers out now. At the final table pick your fights, and stay out of most of the all ins. The last 4 or 5 players left, then you can go all in with any pp and a lot of high cards unsuited if you dare, and even unsuited connectors. But, always remember to try and play your cards, not everone elses chips. And fold like crazy if an overbet is just TOO large, most people don't bluff, and when they do bluff, they tend to show to mix you up. So, remember to stay cool, disengage yourself from the table chat, and remember AA, straights, and flushes, but not in that order, it will help you figure our the millions of hands possible on the flop. Good Luck....pcr

Answer 6

Think of all the sklansky bucks you made (read small stakes holdem if you didnt get that reference.)

In the long run, you should win. Push your premium hands and see more flops from late postion in unraised pots then you normally would. Best advice i could give you for a game like that.

Answer 7

Although frustrating...these players are goldmines. Tight and aggressive will always win. I wouldn't even really try to get a read, just play the cards and your raises will pay off. Good luck!