Can the Fish Turn the Poker Veteran into a Sucker?
Let’s talk for a minute on one of the most philosophical but important questions in the online poker world. ‘Can a game be too loose?”
One poker pundit in Switzerland gives the answer of a resounding “NO!”
The reasoning is simple. The mathematics behind sound poker should still hold up over time.
Let’s say you have the BigSlick under the Gun. 1-2 blind game. You bet out 30. But you still get four callers. Surely they don’t all have high pairs. And, let’s face it, it is a loose game.
You still have the odds in your favor. Now there’s a lot of theory about subprime fish bets colluding against the strong hand (i.e. you flopping a high pair, top kicker vs. a junk hand catching two pair), but the odds are still ridiculously small. About 4 percent.
The problem comes with the multiplier, the four percent by four players. Now we’re looking at about a 20 percent chance that at least one of the junk hands will flop above your top pair.
So here’s a few tips for these games. Expect to buy in quite a few times. The swings in these types of games are very much a roller coaster ride. And you’ll probably find yourself buying in once, getting sucked out on, and buying in again. But all it takes is one of those big hands, to put you back in the black.
And, if you’re really that uncomfortable with the big swings, try playing these games short stacked. One, it’ll make your play more conservative. Two, it will offset the concern you have and the fear you may feel when you’re playing deep stacked.
These loose games can be a challenge when one is used to playing with good, sound players. But just as anything else in poker, online or brick and mortar, they can be beat, it just takes some evolution and take some adaptation.
I’ll semi-quote Darwin. To survive these fish school games, we have to become the fittest. And who better to survive than the fisherman when dealing with fish?