Understanding Average Player Profiles in Full Ring Games
Carl Sampson | December 13, 2011
If you are idle about taking notes or have an aversion to using tracking software, you need to classify players in other ways. Failing to classify players in online poker is a recipe for disaster; you cannot just spin your wheel and hope to make money. I have played a lot of full ring NLHE over the past four years, making it my bread and butter. There are several key things that will help you make money. I’ll explain how to spot good and poor players in your games.
As a rule, seeing someone with a middling stack size usually indicates a weak player. It’s not a given, but there are mainly two ways to make money in cash games: play a short stack or a deep stack, not in between. Skilled deep stack players top up when they fall below 100bb. Skilled short stack players won’t allow themselves to play deep, leaving the table when their stack reaches 40bb or 50-55bb if the buy-in is larger. Seeing a player with 50bb to 80bb usually indicates two things: they are not a reg and are likely not a winning player.
This isn’t absolute, but it’s a good place to start when selecting tables in the lobby for the best games. Also, pay attention to how many tables your opponents are playing. If you see a player on at least eight tables with 100bb on all games, they won’t provide value as they play very well. Similarly, if you see a player on six tables with between 20bb-35bb, they are a short stack reg, and you need to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Carl “The Dean” Sampson
Carl “The Dean” Sampson is an online poker pro, coach and poker writer with many years experience in the poker and gambling industry. Carl has three published books and has written for many leading poker magazines like the WPT and Poker Pro Europe.
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