Why You Need To Go Fishing
While there is certainly a lot be said for sharpening your online poker skills and improving your game and technique, when it comes right down to it the goal of playing at online poker rooms is to win real money. It will do you no good to go out and look for the most competitive game of poker online that you can find. After all, that would be like hitting your head against the wall. Do you want to box against the world champion or the loser from the local club around the street? The answer should be perfectly obvious.
There is an old saying in the world of online poker. If you are the 10th best player in the world you will still lose if your table contains the other nine players who are better than you. Online poker rooms like building up the idea that anyone could walk away a big winner, but this is a huge longshot; situations like Chris Moneymaker winning an online poker satellite event and then going on to capture the main event title of the WSOP tournament are the exception to the rule.
When you go fishing at these poker rooms, you are simply looking for ways to give yourself the most advantage. You are doing everything possible to make sure you have the best chance to win real cash, even at the best websites. This is true in 2023 and it will be true in the future as well.
How To Find Fish in 2023
The first way to start your research into identifying soft competition is to focus on finding soft poker websites. Although it might sound a bit surprising, sites that are connected with major brands seem to have the most fish. Why? Probably because this name recognition makes them more attractive to beginning players or those who might not have played too much at other online poker sites. Yes, this includes even the top, best, and most recognizable names in the industry.
You should also be thinking about focusing more on sites that have online casinos and even sports books in addition to their poker rooms. What happens is a casino player starts out at blackjack or the slots and has a run of bad luck. Then, they decide to check out one of their online poker rooms. Of course, this person is not an experienced online poker player. But, they have seen those events on ESPN and think to themselves it looks pretty easy so why not! Why not indeed. Because you are right there, waiting for them. But no worries, we have found the easiest poker sites and the loosest online poker sites for you.
Once you have located these loose poker sites, it is time to try and find an actual table populated by a lot of weak players. The key to this is the information you will find at online poker rooms in their lobby. Each game that is being played should have some data to help your decision along. For example, you want an average pot size that is 20+ times the big blind (with a table that is $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em, you want an average pot size of $40). Big pots mean a lot of loose action, which most likely means at least some fish, maybe even a whole table of them!
There is another key indicator to look for when choosing a table at online poker rooms. Look at the percentage of players who see the flop. You want this to be above 30%. This generally speaking works out to be about two players seeing the flop every single hand when analyzing a 6-player table. Once you sit down, still pay attention to try and narrow in on the relative strength or weakness of the players. Fish will probably be calling many pre-flop raises (even if they have very speculative hands) and playing very poorly after the flop when out of position. They also never seem to get overly creative in their bluffs, when they do decide to run one, which isn't very often.
How Poker Sites Gather Fish
There are a number of ways in which online poker sites gather fish. The most common of these is by simply having a well-known brand. Then, when they go looking for online poker rooms, they immediately gravitate toward what they remember.
Another way these poker rooms can attract low skilled players is by aggressively seeking to expand their customer base. This means running a bunch of advertising, both on- and off-line. They may also attract new players through large bonuses and promotions. While these promotions certainly will attract both skilled and unskilled players, those with a lot more experience probably already have an account at these websites.
OUR EXPERTS HAVE FOUND THE BEST POKER SITES FOR FISH
So the bottom line is that you are a fish. There is nothing wrong with that and everyone has to starts somewhere. The important thing is to properly choose the tank you are going to swim in and our experts have identified the best online poker sites for you.
While we certainly focused on soft competition at the tables, this is not the only thing we looked at when providing you with the above recommended options for online poker.
Most fish start at low and medium stakes and it is important for the poker rooms to have solid player pools so that you can always find a table that fits your requirements, be it at $0.01/$0.02 or $1/$2. Here we can also include the variants and while Texas Hold'em is where most players start, it is always nice to have options for Omaha, 7 Card Stud, Fast-fold Poker and more just a few clicks away.
Furthermore, even the loosest poker sites in 2016 have a few sharks but the goal here is for you to be one of them, so our best rooms have plenty of guides and tutorials to help you get there. And to help you practice, you can be sure to get a great bonus at any of the poker rooms that meet the high standards of our experts.
