How do you play against Novice and Donk players?

[CincyLady]

Okay, I'm not new to the game of poker, but I've decided to try to improve this one area of my game here.

I'm posting here, because well, my questions might be kind of dumb, but I need the information in order to improve my game, and elsewhere on two plus two, I think I'd get flamed for asking them.

So, here goes. I consider myself an intermediate player in many ways, and I'm fine playing against fellow intermediate or even advanced players. However, I have real problems playing against novice or Donk players.

I have a real problem figuring out when they've sucked out on me, with their 7/2 o/s, or to be quite honest, how to play against them in general.

Case in point is that I live in Colorado right now, and it's the land of No Fold 'em Hold 'em.

The play here is horrible, any two cards to the flop, and manytimes they will hang in there with their belly buster straight draw and get it.

Hence the other names for poker here, are Bingo Poker and Lotto Poker.

Another example is when I'm playing against a novice player, bet or raise them to try to figure out where I am in the hand, and they just flat call instead of re-raising me. Not because they are trying to lay a trap, but simply because they don't know any better.

Can anyone recommend anything that might help me pick up on tells or something that will help me in these types of situations?

FYI, I consider a DONK player BTW, someone who knows better, but plays stupidly anyway.

[Soupy]

dont bluff, be happy when you get the money in good even if you lose

[AbreuTime]

Don't raise for information. Raise huge preflop with good hands. See cheap flops with connected cards. Don't slowplay unless you have the deck crippled (KK on K33 board). Limit your semibluffs. Big pots for big hands, small pots for small hands.

[jasonfish11]

limit or NL? What are the blinds and betting structure? If you want to learn common tells read Carros book. It has many tells that are very common for new players.

[CincyLady]

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limit or NL? What are the blinds and betting structure? If you want to learn common tells read Carros book. It has many tells that are very common for new players.

[/ QUOTE ]

Limit for cash games right now (since I'm stuck in Colorado where the max bet is 5 bucks), and NL for Tournaments.

Edit: One other question in regards to the limit cash games, what number of BB's should I be buying in for, in a game that that max per bet is only 5 bucks, and everyone pretty much stays in until at least the flop no matter what?

[jasonfish11]

Im assumming it is a 10% rake up to $5 and tipping. If this is the case it will be VERY hard to beat the rake and tip. When we use to have $2 max bet lhe in florida the games were very similar. I just was very patient and hardly ever raised preflop. I raised ALL my high flush draws and OESDs because I know that 700 people are calling. Get as much money as you can get in with NFD and OESD. They will call as you said. My favorite move was to sit to the right of a really aggressive player (I know opposite of what you should want) and I would check my big hands/draws let him bet then raise so that everyone says well its only one more bet. You will only get paid 1/3 or 1/4 of the time but when 5 people are calling that is where you make your money.

[jasonfish11]

Oh yeah almost forgot. DONT KILL YOUR ACTION. If there are 4 people behind you and you have the nuts on the river and the guy to your right bets just call it is more important to get 2 or 3 bets out of the people behind you than 1 more bet out of the guy to your right.

[Flop2Felt]

Don't try to scare 'em out of a pot, or bluff them. Most are calling stations, just unable to fold a hand since they know that 7-2o with a 7-10-A flop is just going to hit them with trips by the river - and sometimes chance does hit them and blow your 2 pair out of the water.

Sit, be patient, wait for the premium hands, hit the flop with a flush or quads - then just keep raising them little by little and take thier money.

[Ender1553]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm currently playing $10NL, and all of this applies to what i'm at. I've actually been playing pretty close to Abreu. I'd rather bet huge w/ a big hand and take down a smaller pot uncontested or w/ one caller, than have 3-4 and have one suck out on me.

[CincyLady]

Thanks, all very good advice, I still was wondering though, how much (min) should I be sitting down with, to offset any varience of the bad beats that tend to happen in these type of games?