Complete Maniac, Or Decent Player? I Can't Tell!

[truesue]

Hey everyone! My first post here, I recently got back into poker after quite a long time off (about a decade). I used to do a lot of online poker back in the day, however this time around I've started playing live poker. So I joined a £60 tournament at the local casino, twice in one night I saw two different guys at two different tables from each other on the same night do the same thing.

There were a pre-flop raiser, a couple of limper and these guys are in late position, then they just shove all in. Everyone folds, and they show something like 37o with a little smirk on their face as they willingly flip the cards over and show everyone how amazing they are that they stole the pot with nothing.

My immediate thought is that these guys are good at reading situations, and that they want to set it up so that next time they shove all in with a premium hand, they may be more likely to get a call as everyone assumes they're maniacs and could be holding anything, so this makes me thing these guys may actually be decent at the game.

However saying that I saw one of the guys about an hour later make a mistake and lose maybe half his stack, tilt and immediately shove all in on the next hand before the cards are even dealt, which then makes me doubt my first impression of him, as surely no long time (decent) poker player would allow themselves to tilt this hard from one dodgy hand.

Anyone else seen something like this? Are these guys actually decent at the game? Or was my judgement incorrect? This is the second live game I've ever played, so I'm not used to seeing people and noticing their reactions etc...

Any insights greatly appreciated!

 

[dannystanks]

If they were decent they wouldn’t be shoving like that. If they were decent they would know that a smaller raise would get the job done without risking everything. I love how he tilted when he lost, that pretty much tells you everything right there. Good luck!

 

[Sunz of Beaches]

So they shove 73 into multiple people (and show), tilt off stacks....and ur question is if they are decent players?

A clear no.

 

[A kiravio]

I totally agree with what he did.
Yes it's a strategy and it's quite good. After a time at the table where you play impeccably with hands that you are not ashamed of and have consistently succeeded it is very easy to win a bluff with your eyes closed, at the same time showing the most horrible nuts a couple of times gives them an incentive to take more risks. For me it's an old strategy but it's something that gives life to the table again 😉

 

[RustyRed83]

It is hard to tell over only a few situations at the table. There could be a variety of reasons why they play the way they do. Drunk? Ego (7/3 shove) Tilting from losing at other casino games, more money than sense. Who knows.

Don't let these types affect your game, frustration can set in, and you understandably want to be the one that catches them out, but patience is the key for doing so. A poker tournament is not a race.

 

[teepack]

If you get that excited about pulling off a bluff, you're probably not that good.

 

[A kiravio]

If you get that excited about pulling off a bluff, you're probably not that good.

I've always maintained that I'm a bad player but I like to leave that impression at the table when the stack allows just to diminish my credibility 😀 me keeping an eye on the stacks chips you keep for others 🤣

 

[teepack]

Low level house tourneys are probably a lot like $1-$3 or $1-$2 at a casino. Filled with regs who love to limp into pots, chase gutshots and refuse to believe their small pocket pair is no good on a board with 5 over cards, three of a suit and 4 to a straight. So it's not a bad play to shove on a hand with a min raise and 3 limpers. Chances are they're trying to see a flop for cheap and hope for a miracle. But the long-term value of this play is not good. You only need to lose it once to be crippled, and you only build up your stack a few blinds at a time.

 

[truesue]

Appreciate all the help guys, definitely agree a large 3-bet could've done a similar job without risking the whole tournament for themselves.

 

[DanielNeg]

Its a quite funny story to me.😂
You might know this or not but once Phil Ivey himself goes all in with 2 5.
First opponent raised then he three bets again the opponent 4bet and in the end Ivey goes all in and the opponent folds unluckily I can’t find the video that I stumbled on 2,3days ago but when I do I will surely share the link with you I don’t know how he managed to do that I was shocked the whole day after seeing that!!
I found it man have a look,
Time stamp 2:45

 

[Rmi]

The fact of making this movement is totally unnecessary, but it serves to identify the fish and exploit it...

 

[Luvepoker]

Hey everyone! My first post here, I recently got back into poker after quite a long time off (about a decade). I used to do a lot of online poker back in the day, however this time around I've started playing live poker. So I joined a £60 tournament at the local casino, twice in one night I saw two different guys at two different tables from each other on the same night do the same thing.

There were a pre-flop raiser, a couple of limper and these guys are in late position, then they just shove all in. Everyone folds, and they show something like 37o with a little smirk on their face as they willingly flip the cards over and show everyone how amazing they are that they stole the pot with nothing.

My immediate thought is that these guys are good at reading situations, and that they want to set it up so that next time they shove all in with a premium hand, they may be more likely to get a call as everyone assumes they're maniacs and could be holding anything, so this makes me thing these guys may actually be decent at the game.

However saying that I saw one of the guys about an hour later make a mistake and lose maybe half his stack, tilt and immediately shove all in on the next hand before the cards are even dealt, which then makes me doubt my first impression of him, as surely no long time (decent) poker player would allow themselves to tilt this hard from one dodgy hand.

Anyone else seen something like this? Are these guys actually decent at the game? Or was my judgement incorrect? This is the second live game I've ever played, so I'm not used to seeing people and noticing their reactions etc...

Any insights greatly appreciated!

More likely than not they are not really great players but without more information on the play and more hands we see them do this we really can't make a decision.

As for their jam, I have played in poker tournaments where the starting stack is only 30BB in Las Vegas. If there is a raise and a few calls, I could see the value of pushing all in.

A few years back I also sat down at the table with a guy who raised or 3bet over 70% of hand dealt. He was hyper aggressive and was not afraid to play you for all your chips. This player is currently one of the top players on the world.

 

[tagece]

This is typical of a totally amateur player. No reason to bully with the other players, no reason to get attention over himself. The tilt was just the final act. Anyone who played poker for a while knows that you won nothing if you are the chip leader after ten hands and you are in the game if you have one chip.

 

[BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch]

Thanks for asking the community,

I thought about it and my initial response sounded kinda sarcastic and cynical so I'll keep it to myself but more importantly, the post made me think about how I should question my classification of players.

I'm playing in a omaha8 freeroll and I watched a player in a low buyin stud8 tourn awhile ago that's playing at my table and thought they were a tight solid player but I've been playing them in pl omaha8 here and I can gather that they're tight in hi low games because they're looking to play only low card hands, lolol.

In other words they don't know when its best to go with the high hands and they over value the low hands too much.

Thats the next step in learning hi lo games.

Anyway point is, I gave the player too much credit. If you're giving them too much credit let them show you what they're playing either from showdowns or when they show a bluff like your opponent did.

Don't let them play a certain way and you decide to play poker police and try to stop them and you realize when you have YOUR chips in the middle that this person is a serious player waiting for whatever higher table to fill up they normally play using the low entry tourn as something to fill time or something.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Any insights greatly appreciated!

They both suck.

 

[truesue]

Anyway point is, I gave the player too much credit. If you're giving them too much credit let them show you what they're playing either from showdowns or when they show a bluff like your opponent did.

When you say too much credit I immediately realised that must have been what I did.

To be honest the guy had a hoodie on, baseball cap, kept his head down so you rarely see his face, seemed to be slowly accumulating chips, so that's why I had him down as a possible threat... That was until the all in before seeing the cards thing that is!