On Playing against a Non-Attentive Player
In all of the poker books and all of the discussion of poker theory out there, there often is a great overlying assumption that your opponent has some consideration or care for playing ‘correctly’ in the game. That is: you assume your opponent, like you, wants to put his money in good, and not gamble against supreme odds. You also might assume that your opponent can catch on to basic strategic concepts, in that they will known when the four to the flush on the board hits and you are betting, you might likely have it.
These kinds of assumptions, though, can go out the window in poker games where the players are entirely playing their cards alone (and often not playing them well!). Many players give absolutely no consideration to what kind of ‘fancy poker moves’ you are making, or any other ideas such as pot odds, implied odds, or etc. Instead, they just want to play, and see the cards come down. Often the money and the winning is just a side-effect for these people. It’s entertainment, not money to them.
Responding to these kinds of player, then, means you have to play ABC 123 poker. No bells and whistles, as they won’t be appreciated. Bluffing and ‘making moves’ is often just like throwing your chips out of the window, as if you don’t have the hand, you aren’t going to win. Going back to basics, however, and playing tight, aggressive poker, can quickly have you raking in their easy come easy go chips.
