Identifying and exploiting weak players can significantly boost your poker winnings. Here are five effective strategies to capitalize on their mistakes and enhance your game.
Raise Larger Versus Their Limps
This is how I used to pay all my bills from cash games. When I was a teenager, I was terrified of playing huge pots. I was broke and I didn’t have many buy-ins. I played only the best hands, and raised way too much preflop because I didn’t actually know how to play the flop.
Recreational players would never fold to me, regardless of how tight I was playing. These weak players wanted to see the flop, damn it. I started making money hand over fist. Recreational players would hit some mediocre pair or draw, and I’d get my money in with top pair or an overpair.
In low stakes games, you can still run this strategy. Recreational players hate folding preflop. Look at what’s in the middle preflop and raise to twice that amount. That raise size will look huge to decent players with some experience, but gamblers who want to sling some chips around while they sip a Bud Light won’t blink an eye. Exploit that.
Three-bet Their Opens To Massive Amounts
Most weak players want to see every flop. They will limp in if they believe it is the cheapest way to see the flop. However, if people keep raising their limps, they might try to raise themselves to see if that helps them get to the flop.
I was playing a high stakes tournament one time. A guy turned over a 3-2s that he raised UTG. No one at the table seemed to be paying attention but myself and one other guy.
Whenever this loose player raised for the rest of the tournament I would raise to 3.5X or 4X his raise size. He hated folding preflop, so he always called me. He was starting with awful combinations, so it was easier to get him to pay off bets with mediocre pairs. The large three-bets also helped me isolate him and get the other players to fold.
Value Bet Thinly
Loose weak players do some of the weirdest things. When you check to them, they will bet for no reason. They will have fourth pair and they’ll bet half pot. Are they value betting? Are they bluffing? They don’t even know. An hour later, they might check that same hand. Why are they checking now? They don’t even know. They’re gambling, just playing cards for the hell of it.
Trying to interpret what weak players are doing post-flop is like assigning meaning to your child’s fingerpainting. It’s a waste of time.
What you should do instead is value bet relentlessly. They will always come up with some ridiculous justification for why they have to call down. They see bluffs that aren’t there. You will be stunned by what hands pay you off.
Trap The Maniacs With More Top Pairs
Sometimes you are playing against a different breed of weak player. This weak player has a ton of money from some other source and loves to use it on the felt. This is their way of blowing off steam.
If you get one of these players who bets every time you check, then play into that. If you flop top pair, you can check or check back with it. Let them keep firing at you.
Be prepared to gamble. They love making you play big pots. They hope that will make you uncomfortable.
Don’t Three-bet When They’re To Your Left
If you have a player to your left who is calling with everything preflop and doesn’t want to let go of anything post-flop, try to not freeze them out of pots with three-bets.
Sometimes, if I get a weak player who raises with anything, I’ll three-bet a ton of my hands in position just to isolate them. If instead a solid player raises with a good range and there is a loose weak player behind me, I will go ahead and just flat with suited connectors, suited Broadways, small and medium pocket pairs, and suited Aces. Those hands tend to play well in multiway pots with loose weak players.
Summary
By implementing these five strategies, you can effectively exploit weak players and maximize your profits. Raising larger against their limps, three-betting massively, and value betting thinly will keep you ahead. Remember to trap maniacs and avoid three-betting when weak players are on your left to maintain your advantage.
Want to read more from APT Head Pro Alex Fitzgerald? Try his article about the 11 Tips for Handling Bad Beats and Variance