Praise the Poker Fish
Taking a bad beat in poker can often send you into a fit of rage, and cause you to berate the dumb player who got lucky and took your money. However, while this may help you vent some of your frustration, it won’t help your poker profits in the long run.
Bad players, or fish, as they are known in the poker community, are the reason you sit down at a table. These players are your financial lifeline, the ones who keep your bankroll on an upward trajectory.
Don't Scare the Fish
There is an expression in the poker world, which sounds obvious, but is often forgotten when the red mist descends: ‘don’t scare the fish’. By taunting a player at the table, and pointing out their mistakes, you are inadvertently making the game harder for yourself because you are educating them.
While the poker community are a generous bunch, and will gladly share their knowledge and experience away from the table, on it, they are less willing to give lessons for free.
Welcome the Fish
Indeed, the best way to tackle a fish at the table is to encourage them, and make them feel as welcome as possible. In some respects, this is a cynical ploy to keep them in the game so you can take their money, but, in poker, it is the name of the game.
If this is a tough concept to accept, then consider the alternative: you only play in games where the players are better than you. In this scenario, your bankroll will quickly decline, as will your desire to play the game.
Thus, if you want to make more money in poker, then you have to be nice to the fish. Instead of getting mad when they get lucky, make them feel like what they did was correct. Then, the next time they make that move, you can take all their money and smile.