Imagine how great your poker life could be if you could choose your opponent? Well this is what the very best regular’s do in the game, and it is what provides them with an added edge. We are not talking about heads up action here either. You can and should be sitting down at a six-max or full ring game even if there is one fish at the table.
One of the easiest ways to spot a fish is to purchase some table selection software. We are not going to recommend any here but a quick Google search will find you the right piece of kit for the right price. In the meantime let’s just give you some tips the good old-fashioned way. People looking at WSOP 2012 should bear this in mind.
First of all have a look at player tendencies. If you use a Heads Up Display (HUD) this task is much simpler because the stats are ready made for you. If not you are going to rely on your observational and note taking skills. Any player with a VPIP (voluntarily put in pot) of 35+ and a PFR (pre flop raise) of below 10 is a bad player and you should be trying to find a seat to their direct left. People searching for a Betfair Poker Freeroll need to remember this.
Another really good observational point is stack sizes. If you find a player with a stack size below 100bb then they are either a fish or a short stack professional and you will quickly notice the difference. The short stack will auto top up when stacked, and the fish will just sit out while their credit card goes through the rigmarole of trying to get more money.
So there you are, two great ways of choosing an opponent, so what are you waiting for…get searching!