Dealing With Donkey Overpopulation
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
If you have ever played poker online or live you have most likely seen the following scenario take place.
Player 1 makes a terrible call or silly all in raise. Usually involving bottom pair or a runner runner straight/flush draw. Usually 25% or less to win the hand.
Player 2 has either a large made hand, flopped straight or flush or a large over pair in the hole. Usually 75% or more to win the hand.
Player 1 makes runner runner straight/flush or backs into a full boat.
Player 2 loses the hand and is very upset that player 1 would play in such a way. He explains why it was a silly play and begins throwing around insults like donkey, fish etc....
Motivation
What makes player 2 behave in such a way? Here are some of the possible reasons.
1. He is a newer player that has read a few books and understands some of the nuances of the game of poker but has yet to realize that you make money from players who invest money in hands with little chance of improving.
2. Learned behavior. There is a married couple who frequents a local casino who both behave in t
his fashion. I suspect one of them learned from the other.
3. Overbearing sense of pride. No one likes to lose. Once again they miss the fact that in the long run player 1 is losing money.
4. Inability to properly critique his/her own play. Instead of asking "Did player 1 play his/her hand correctly?" Player 2 should be asking "Did I play my hand correctly?" If the answer to the second question is yes then there is no reason to be upset with anyone. The game of poker is not about winning the small battles but understanding that playing correctly is a big part of winning the war. Poker is a game where a hand can be played in a perfect manner and still lose.
5. Player 2 believes there is only one way to play poker and is not comfortable unless everyone is playing the same.
6. Player 2 is Phil Hellmuth. What would a poker blog post about complaining be without mentioning Phil?
What to do?
Make money! If played correctly this can be a very profitable situation.
With player 1 it is important to do everything you can to encourage this type of play. Telling player 1 "Nice Hand" when a scenario like this pops up is always a good idea. The reason behind this is that player 1 feels less alienated from the rest of the table and player 2 is likely to tell you that you are nuts for thinking that. Which is a good thing in the long run as player 1 is encouraged and player 2 is even more likely to go on tilt.
You also want to do whatever you can to stop player 2 from running off all of the sub-par players. In some cases I go out of my way to play sub par hands against player 2. Within reason of course. This is something Phil Gordon calls Implied Tilt Odds. The more you can upset player 2 by playing in a manner he is trying to discourage, you inevitably force him to change his game usually for the worse. It also shifts some of the focus off of player 1. I have seen instances where two or three better players at a table will gang up on someone like this until he/she is just about pulling his/her hair out.
As noted above player 2 will usually be someone who cannot stand losing and has no intention of leaving the table until he/she has won all of his/her money back or has gone flat broke. We expect to be part of the later.
In closing remember both player 1 and player 2 are both huge donators in a poker game. Never again will you be intimidated by the likes of such adversaries. If you play your cards right you could end up killing two donkeys with one stone.
posted by JD52 @ 2:52 PM,
