Majority of the online poker websites permit the players to tag their opponents under various types of players. There are at least 11 different types of players in poker – fish, shark, station, maniac, bomb to name a few. These include both good and bad types. The importance of understanding the player type lies in the fact that being labeled as one of the less good ones can be harmful to your bankroll. It also helps you to understand the opponents so that you can decide which players to play with and which ones to avoid.
One of the most famous poker terms is the poker fish or the poker shark. Seasoned players, poker sharks are players to watch out for. They are extremely good and can be tough to beat. When you’re in a tournament and want to win money, stay away from poker sharks unless you’re a shark too. Thus, knowing these terms will also help you plot out your poker strategy against these poker species.
Poker fish, as you might have guessed already, is just the opposite and is used for new or weak players. Blue Poker fish are also termed as “loose” players. Their disadvantage is that they play a lot of hands at one go, but can be strong players before the flop. After the flop, he simply fizzles out; poker sharks will know how to win by betting money against them. Green poker fish, on the other hand, refers to a very weak or even amateur player who simply cannot play.
Station, or better known as calling station, are known to call a lot and hence the name. They are passive players, both pre-flop and post flop, and usually like to go to showdowns.
As the name suggests, a Maniac plays a wild game and single-handedly changes the way the table is playing. These players like to play most of the hands and believe in bluffing and raising a lot.
To decide on a working poker strategy, you need to know these terms. This is because a single poker game often has multiple strategies; you will need to change your stance after every round. Needless to say, poker fish are weak players who don’t know the strategies of the game, and therefore lose. They simply play on luck and don’t rely on sound planning. They are always super-excited and want to play every odd that crops up in their way. This ultimately leads to a loss of balance due to the absence of any poker strategy.
You can often identify poker fish by their tendency to mindlessly swallow all the information they find on poker tactics, but using it to no effect. The poker sharks often take advantage of their inexperience and beat them at the game. If you’ve been behaving like a poker fish, its time to slow down your game and learn more about poker strategy, which will help you win, even when the odds are against you.
