UK live players : A spotters guide

[Alverton]

What about quincy......the type of player who does an autopsy on every hand...disecting it and educating all and sundry where you went wrong and the correct manner to play...seen on most tables....

The Young Guns

Weakness : Too willing to share secrets, tap the glass and improve the games of their opponents in an attempt to look smart

 

[paulhouk03]

young chinese
old chinese

pls

[GazWalker]

Excellent

Moarrrrr pls

[giveyourcash]

The consistent live fish

Where you'll see him : Calling for chips

How to spot : When this guy approaches the cash desk all heads in the room turn. Usually hailed by a chorus of “SEAT OPEN!”

Description : If this guy ever took the time to graph his sessions he'd see a 45 degree line straight down with perhaps the occasional spike where the stars all aligned and he somehow managed to book a win. Usually loose passive, limp calling any amount preflop and folding for the tiniest bet postflop if he misses. Be wary however as the CLF does not define the word miss as you and I do. Two overs? That's worth calling one, gutshot to the low end? Sure. If you're cbetting this guy and it's not for value you need to commit to two or even better three barrels by which time you may have convinced him to let go of that bottom pair that he was holding onto for dear life on the flop. Usually known by his trademark call “how can I fold getting this much value” (calling a pot sized bet with a gutshot on the turn) or “I hate JJ it always loses” (after open raising to 15BB pre). Physically incapable of folding aces under any circumstances no matter the board, the action or any local meteorite strike decimating the poker room.

Strength : N/A

Weakness : pretty much everything



The old school grinder (Joey Knish)

Where you'll see him : The same seat he's been in for 30 years

How to spot : He's the one that will have just locked up the seat next to him for the CLF

Description : He's stood the test of time. Making a living playing cards sounds glamorous to an outsider but living it for half a lifetime is something else entirely. If you're supporting a wife and kids poker is all about the grind. Has a sometimes strained, sometimes friendly relationship with the young guns because he remembers a time when it was just guys like him vs the fish and while they are often better at the technical aspects of the game he has the skills that turn you from a good card player into a good poker player namely game selection, bankroll management and tilt control. This guy is tough to beat for any significant amount of money without a cooler situation but you can take small edges here and there where he may be reluctant to mix things up with you.

Strength : Sees all the angles.

Weakness : Doesn't have the stones to play one.



The maniac (Smart and dumb)

Where you'll see him : Hopefully to your right (if not change seats as soon as possible)

How to spot : He's the one holding raising chips

Description (smart version) : Man this guy's been raising me all f**king night he's taken down every pot. My TPTK just has to be good here, I call. Full house wins the pot. Giving the illusion of crazy action while only committing with the nuts is a tough line to walk. Trying to keep your losses to a minimum whilst building an image that will pay off later is very difficult to achieve. The maniac will pretty much always straddle and double straddle as this is reasonably cheap PR work and be wary of flatting pre as that squeeze is coming more often than not. If you're up against a good smart maniac you need to find out as fast as possible, preferably before you ship your stack over to him with the bottom pair you were certain was going to be good. Even once you've unmasked him in your mind he's a tough customer. The only way to consistently beat him is either nit up like crazy or hitch up your drawers and out maniac the maniac. 4 bet bluff his squeezes, check raise his flop bets, basically out aggro him. He's used to running the table over and with luck won't know how to handle you.

Description (dumb version) : Looks similar to the smart version at first glance but there are clear  differences to the trained eye. He's far far more likely to show up with a retarded bluff for all his chips and make the TPNK guy feel like the hero of all time. Will pounce on weakness like the smart version but will also “pounce” on strength. Will 4 bet old man nitter, the most suicidal of all plays and generally has no rhyme or reason to his over aggressiveness other than “f**k it I'm all in”. The dumb maniac is a variance roller-coaster but if you're properly bankrolled can be a goldmine.

Strength (smart) : Confuses plenty of opponents into donating their stacks

Weakness (smart) : Has to pay (take small -EV spots) to build that image

Strength (dumb) : Will pick up plenty of small pots

Weakness (dumb) : Will lose all the money back and more in one or two big pots

[eartoplay]

great stuff love it

[Pinchop73]

MOAR!

[zerofive]

Absolutely brilliant: well structured, easy to relate to and very perceptive, with witty overtones, and a soupçons of cynicism.

[Pinchop73]

Thanks

[dreenie]

Absolutly brilliant! - great stuff, and really enjoyed reading it.

Ok, so any blondes on here want to give a honest account fo what they catogery they think they are?

I'll start the ball rolling ... I think at times I am the 'smart' maniac,, but there are times, where I can easily look/play like the 'dumb' maniac, your right, there is a very fine line imo.

Anyone else?

[zerofive]

Absolutly brilliant! - great stuff, and really enjoyed reading it.

Ok, so any blondes on here want to give a honest account fo what they catogery they think they are?

I'll start the ball rolling ... I think at times I am the 'smart' maniac,, but there are times, where I can easily look/play like the 'dumb' maniac, your right, there is a very fine line imo.

Anyone else?

Haha. Probably young gun... Despite being way nittier than people expect me to be given my appearance. I do like to discuss 5betting so I look like I know a little bit about what I'm talking about, and I like to take the table through the process of my thoughts and effectively give them a list of my exploitable tendencies.

[kinboshi]

There should be a category for:  "The ex-dealer".

[Pyso]

There should be a category for:  "The ex-dealer".

...and for the "soon to be dealer"

[PizzicatoXev]

Absolutly brilliant! - great stuff, and really enjoyed reading it.

Ok, so any blondes on here want to give a honest account fo what they catogery they think they are?

I'll start the ball rolling ... I think at times I am the 'smart' maniac,, but there are times, where I can easily look/play like the 'dumb' maniac, your right, there is a very fine line imo.

Anyone else?

I am definately in the dumb maniac crowd with occasional forays into retarded maniac...

[smashedagain]

young chinese
old chinese

pls

Is there any difference?

[Longines]

Still to come (maybe)

The mix game/dealers choice player

If you're doing requests...