Fear Factor

Definitely one looks to attack scared money. If one is scared money, play lower if possible. If not, you just have to get used to it.

As for what one does in the examples you gave, it depends on a myriad of factors. Sometimes the right answer is to c/f. But that shouldn't be because of fearing Monsters Under the Bed (often call MUBS, with the S standing for Syndrome). It should be because your analysis shows that your V's range almost always has you beat and if they bet, it's enough to deny you drawing odds.

Knew a guy that every time he came to the 1/3 table, he would hold up a stack of red and say, “This is fear!” and laugh. He was definitely hard to play against because all he did was make ‘big bets’ in every situation. There was never anything standard about a game he was in.

This is not hard to play against. This is a free ride to value town. Embrace the variance when you have value. Once you get used to it, this type of player will seem like a Christmas present.

If you're playing within your bankroll, fear should never be a factor in cash games. Losing a buy-in, or two, or three, shouldn't put you in a spot where you're worried about the financial implications of a poker decision.

Of course, you may very well find yourself playing against players with little to no concept of BM. They're just out to have a good time. Players like that are often vulnerable to huge bluffs. They may figure they probably have the best hand, but they only brought two buy-ins and they've only been playing for twenty minutes. They don't want to risk ending their night early.

Overall I think you're overthinking it / overvalueing this game as some sort of psychological warfare, when in reality it is mostly just about not trying to suck as much as the people you are playing with (which is kinda hard to do since most people at the table suck real bad).

GgoodluckG

I'm kind of surprised that Garick didn't send this thread to the Psychology forum, where it really belongs.

I get what you’re saying but it makes it hard to exploit others at the table and now you need a hand to get involved. In a 5 or 6 hr session, I might not get many of those hands. Does this make sense?

Have had a great deal of experience with straddles and the game becoming 3/6. I think it’s easier when everyone is aggressive, but one maniac seems harder to work around.

Used to play with a guy that announced he was raising every hand preflop to $75 and he would. I just never seemed to catch a hand before he busted out. Do you play a random hand against this guy?

I can't think of any reason for "fear" in poker except losing money, and I don't play at stakes where losing the money would affect me or cause fear. I'm not sure why anyone would?

I know right, it’s just a game & I’m glad you feel this way. I’m with you. However, the general population feels more than uncomfortable in some spots. It’s exploitable.

If it’s not the money, it might be an inner fear, maybe they’re afraid they will look stupid calling a huge bet with 2nd pair. Most people are worried about a lot of things and will give up when faced with aggression. It’s just a matter of finding out how much pressure it takes.

Don’t make a mistake I made for many years. People don’t think or act like me or you. You can’t start exploiting them until you understand their strategies. A lot of players play scared poker and don’t manage risk well.

I’m strictly a ‘live’ game player, so it’s probably not as scary clicking buttons. But I’m looking at these people - in fact I’ve been intently watching everything they do since I sat down.

In your arena everyone may be well rolled and good players. I’d probably be looking for another game, but I do find myself in this atmosphere once in a while & it’s fun. But then an inexperienced player sits down and believe me, they are afraid of many things.

I don't fear much at the table. I'm properly rolled for the game I play. I can lose 2, 3, 4 buyins to variance & still be ok. Maybe a little pissed that luck went that way, but I can still play the next session.

AK after missing the flop, well that really depend on table dynamics...Same thing with KK & A hits the flop. I've also turned that into an advantage. Had a guy last week open fold his KK when an A hit the board & I bet big.

The feeling of missing out on free money is one of the more common frustrations of playing poker. Somebody is whaling it up and meanwhile you're either completely card dead or just forced to fold when you do play a hand vs. them. You just have to learn to deal with it.

My suggestion is get an equity calculator, and play around with ranges against any two cards. Work out what kind of range you would be happy to get stacks in with, assuming you close the action, and how many bb per hand that nets you. Include the effect of rake. This sort of toy game is a good starting point for deciding what you want to do against large bets with any two cards.

Assuming the bet is something crazy like 30bb and stacks are 100bb, you probably want to shove or fold. The earlier your position, the more you lean to folding because someone else may wake up with a hand. The closer you are to closing the action, the wider your range.

TL;DR no don't play random hands against this guy, for example if you play 86s, you are losing money because a) you are a 46% dog b) rake will reduce your equity further and c) depending on your position, other people may come in with a strong hand.

Appreciate this but I am not playing a random hand for lots of money - I didn’t mean it that way.