Some of the most profitable situations in poker occur when your opponents include a desperate player.
A person who has been losing often goes on tilt. And when a poker player goes on tilt, all that person's plans and good intentions go to hell.
While some players are ecstatic when this happens, I have mixed feelings. I don't like it when I see a player go on tilt. But like the other players, I cannot resist the urge to take advantage to the situation and add to my bankroll.
Here are some of the signs that a person is on tilt.
Most players raise only when they have a solid raising hand. A person who is on tilt will raise much more often -- sometimes every other or third hand.
While that person may be having a good rush of cards, in most cases they are raising with garbage cards and hoping for a miracle flop.
My advice is this: if a person who has been losing increases his percentage of raises, either re-raise with a good hand or call the raise with a medium to good hand.
After the flop if you are the only other player in the hand, you can manipulate the raiser into surrendering the hand depending on the flop and that person's actions. Your chances of winning the pot rest somewhere between seven and nine.
In no-limit poker, a person who is on tilt will often go all-in on a nothing hand. If your hand is average to above average, you really have only one choice. That is to call.
Will you sometimes be outdrawn? Of course you will be. But most of the time you will have the best cards going into the flop and most of the time you will have the best cards after the flop, on fourth street, and on the river.
I don't think it's necessary to advise you to refrain from going on tilt. If the cards have been falling bad for you, either take a break or ask for a table change.
It takes time to calm down once a player has gone on tilt. Getting away from the table helps speed up the process.
Eventually the cards will change and the good cards will start coming to you. Sometimes they will flow to you like a dam has burst.
I once asked Doyle Brunson to tell me one of his best-kept secrets for winning.
Doyle smiled. 'When I win a hand, I always play the next hand regardless of my cards,' he said. 'I may be at the beginning of a rush so why should I throw away a potential winning hand?'
Conversely,when a player is on a winning streak, he will tend to over-bet his hand in an effort to intimidate the other players. It is your job to spot this trend and, if possible, to take the player down.
If a winning player increases his rate of raises, wait until you get a reasonable hand and re-raise him. While his luck could continue, in most cases your hand will be the best and you can slow down or stop his winning streak.
Another ploy you can use (I use it all the time) is to ask the dealer to scramble or wash the deck. This does two things. It re-arranges the cards and it irks the winning player who wants to keep his streak going. You can even add to the player's discomfort by joking that 'It's time the good guys won' or with some similar remark.
Desperate players do desperate things at a poker player. Counter-act their desperate plays with power plays of your own and watch the chips roll your way.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
