Challenges of Poker - Donkey Poker

I heard this statement at one of my bar games this last week. "This game is turning into such donkey poker".

If you want to play bar poker you are going to have to except the fact that not every night you are going to have a table of players that are there for the same reason as you. (see my old post on bar poker) That is what I love about playing poker bar, home or casino games. When you draw each time for your seat you are beginning a new and unique experience. You must be able to change your game to the players that surround you and then be able to change as the players move in and out of the table.

The first thing I do when I arrive at a new table is evaluate the players. It's easy if you play a game regularly, much harder if you don't know the players. Do you have tight aggressive players or do you have loose players or a combination. It will determine if you are going to have to tighten or loosen your play. I personally like to play the first hand to try and get a feel for how the table is going to play, but you can also learn by watching. Then you must adjust your game accordingly. Your table will change as the night goes on as players move in and tables break down. You will have to go through this period of transition many times in a poker tournament and the players that learn to handle it better will succeed more in the long term.

Interesting enough, I was on the other table from the person that made that statement and my table was one of the most enjoyable evenings of poker that I have had in a long time. A mixture of different styles of play and some good conversation. I didn't win but had a great time and that's what bar poker should be about!

Here is a list of different styles of bar players from my book

Chapter IV
Types of players

Bar poker draws a wide variety of players. From beginners to long time poker players, you will see it all if you play enough bar poker. These are of course generalizations and not always true. You will have to use your own powers of observation to see where someone falls.

Beginner – Most beginners will tell you very quickly that they don’t know what they are doing. Most have basic poker knowledge, but have probably only played with people that they know. It is important that you are patient with them and make them feel welcome. You may even have to explain things to them. They will appreciate it and may come back again. They will tend to call with any hand and not raise when they hit a big hand. You must be very careful how you play against them. You want to acquire as many of their chips as possible without risking too many of your own. Remember they could have a big hand! They will tend to over play bad kickers, bottom or middle pair or straight or flush draws. Bluffing usually doesn’t work against beginners. You don’t need the nuts to play against them, but you should have at least a pair or a good draw to play with to be in a pot with them. If they ever raise, they most likely have a big hand so proceed with caution. Don’t be afraid to lay down a hand to a beginner. There will be other chances to get their chips.

Min-Bet Guy – Beware of minimum bets! This type of player rarely bets but usually calls on draws and any pair. You want to bet into this person before they make a hand, but bet must be big enough to make them fold. If you reraise this person they will call, so be prepared to put more chips into pot. You will have to adjust your bet based on his chip stack. It has to be big enough to hurt his stack to make him consider folding. If he hits his hand he will make a small or minimum bet. He wants action. Unless you have the nuts you must fold.

Seniors- Senior citizens tend to fall in one of two categories when it comes to bar poker. If they have grown up playing home games they tend to want to play a lot of hands and chase their draws. Most of the home games of the past were played as dealer’s choice with many of the games requiring more luck then skill. Players tended to stay in hand to hope and win a big pot. These players want action and will play a lot of hands. They will call bets until they hit a hand and then will raise. They are not afraid of calling off all their chips on a draw. If they are calling your bets and suddenly raise, unless you have the nuts, you are most likely beat. You must lay down big hands at this point or risk elimination.
The other type of senior is very conservative. They tend to only play big hands. They have come to bar poker for socialization and want to play as long as possible. They will fold a lot pre-flop. When they do get a big hand they will tend to raise into an unraised pot or call if someone has already raised. If they hit the flop, they will bet or call a raise.
Unless, you have a big hand, you must play very cautiously if this player is in the pot and be prepared to fold. You don’t want to risk your tournament to this type of player. This player is someone that you can get to fold their hands by being aggressive towards them. You should always raise their blinds if no one is in the pot before you. They will fold unless they have a big hand. You should always put out a continuation bet to this player. If they call, you must check the next card unless you improve your hand. Most times they will check and give you a free card. If you do not steal chips from this type of player someone else will.

Women players – Women bar poker players tend to start playing bar poker because of their spouse, significant others or friends. They tend to fall into either the beginner or the conservative senior category. They will rarely bluff. If they are betting like they have a hand, they most likely do. Just remember that one person’s big hand may not be a big hand to you. One thing to always be aware of is if the person they came with gets knocked out. This will change how they play. They will be come more aggressive and even start to give chips away because they are also ready to go. They are good women bar poker players out there, so you need to determine quickly where they fall as a player and adjust your play accordingly.

Intoxicated players – This may be the toughest player to play against. They tend to be hyper aggressive and annoying. They will play any cards. They will make outrageous bets and raises. They usually are the first ones knocked off of the table. You need to play hands with them and win get their chips before someone else does. Call the over bets with any pair. Get them all-in if you can. You will lose sometimes, but you will be rewarded more often. The only exception to this is once in a while this type of player will go on card rushes and catch with their any two cards. Then you must only play with big hands. This type of player is best dealt with in the early blind levels. That way you risk less by trying to knock this player out.

Loose aggressive players – Every bar has a few of this type of player. These players believe that they can outplay you on any given hand. They rarely call and usually raise pots. They tend to bluff a lot and will show you that they bluffed. They make you want to call them, because you don’t believe they have a hand. This is a very difficult style to deal with because sometimes they do have a hand. You must be very careful with this player. They tend to accumulate a lot of chips early and then use their stack against you. They are also not afraid of being knocked out of tournaments and will make loose calls based purely on pot odds. They get themselves into this position, because they play a lot of pots. You only want to play big hands against this type of player. It is better to reraise this player preflop to let them know you believe you have a better hand then they do. You want them to fold. The longer the hand is played the more likely they are to improve their hand and beat you. They tend to go along way or get knocked out early in tournaments. This style allows a player a chance to win tournaments. The biggest downfall of this style is that if this player don’t change gears (their style of play) near the end as the blinds get high they will get knocked or crippled out by an all-in by a big hand.

Tight aggressive players – this type of player is your average bar poker player. They have read a few poker books and play for the love of the game. They tend to not care as much about what they are playing for and more to improve their poker game. They tend to raise with big hands and call with lesser hands. They rarely play junk hands except in the blinds. They play solid position poker. They will always put out a continuation bet after raising. This player will fold their draws and their bad kicks. You can get this player to lay down winning hands. You must play aggressively against this style of player, yet you must know when to fold. If you don’t believe that this player has hit a flop and you are late position you should reraise this player to find out where you are in the hand. If they have nothing or a draw, most times they will fold. If they call you, you know that they have a good hand and you will probably have to lay your hand down. If they go all-in they probably have the best hand. They are not risk takers, so beware. This type of player makes it a long way in most tournaments. They usually make it close to what ever the prizes are. If they don’t change gears late in a tournament, they will rarely win.