Fishiest Poker Sites
Ok, let's get down to the crux of the matter here - nobody's sitting down at the poker table just to make up the numbers. Ultimately everybody's there because they want to win and they want to pick up a nice pile of cash.
So with that in mind, sometimes it makes sense to look for those poker rooms which are just going to pay you out nice and quickly. These sites may not have the best poker software or be compatible with the latest poker tools, but what they do have is a lot of poor quality players with a stack of chips to lose.
We're talking soft players, loose players, the kinda guys that aren't sure what pot odds and quite frankly don't care. They've seen the highlights of the last WSOP and think that they're the next Phil Ivey. In short, they're the kind of players that you're going to make a lot of quick money off, even if you've only got your head round some basic poker strategy (and if you haven't head off to our strategy section and get reading!)
With this in mind, check out our list of the fishiest poker sites around. We believe that they offer you the best chance of doubling your stack nice and quickly.
Fishiest poker sites
*Top Rated for Fishiness* This place is just amazing - seriously! As you might guess, the vast majority of people who register with a poker site are there to have fun. They're not all good poker players ... but, being hobby players, that doesn't mean that they're not willing to give it a go!
As a result, you get guys practically giving it away at the poker tables. All you need to do is play solid hands when you're in position and the money will come easy.
Another site which is right up there with True Poker is the 3d poker site PKR. The only reason that PKR is in second place on this list, is because new players get a slightly smaller bonus to take advantage of all the fish on the site. Cash games can run as high as 60% and tournaments sometimes run into overlay making the whole site exceptional value for steady players who don't mind waiting for a solid hand to play.
In its day, Party was probably the number one choice for the best poker players in the world. However, when the UIEGA bill passed, Party could no longer accept US players, but were still determined to try and hold on to their position as one of the biggest poker rooms out there. To do that, they set up a very aggressive marketing activity actively aimed at brand new poker players (just check out one of their ads!) which is great news for players with a bit of experience.
Strategy for beating the fishiest poker sites
The way to beat the fishiest poker sites can be summed up in on simple phrase: "Keep it Simple."
Don't waste your time and your money trying to get too clever by bluffing or slow playing when you play poker online because nine times out of ten, it won't work. Instead, remain patient and wait until you're dealt some strong hands, and when you get them, play aggressively.
It sounds a straight forward process, and indeed it is. Just be careful of the following slight pitfalls, and you should find yourself raking in chips fairly comfortably.
Stay strong
When you're playing against weak opponents, you're going to find a lot of your bets being called. It's easy to start thinking that these players must have a moster hand to continue to call, and that can make it tempting for you to fold.
Bear in mind though that a lot of these players will be playing every hand they get in exactly the same way. Whether they're on a draw, looking to hit a pair or simply playing out a strong hand, they're going to call you every time due to either a lack of knowledge or confidence (or normally both!).
To combat this, you need to value bet your strong hands as often as possible. If you're holding top pair and there's no danger on the flop, then there's no risk in betting on every street to maximise your return.
Should a player raise you, then you need to have a think. Fishy players don't tend to raise too often, so by throwing additional chips into the pot they're signalling a strong hand. Unless you have something strong yourself (preferably something more than top pair), then I'd seriously consider mucking your hand.
Stay patient
Playing against players who simply call every hand right down to the river can lead to a lot of frustration. You're going to find yourself suffering the odd bad beat from players who aren't savy enough to know that they should never have limped into the flop in the first place.
This is when you really need to bite your tongue and just focus on your game. Take the bad beat as a sign that you're on the right track. For every one bad beat you suffer, the chances are that you're going to come out on top in most other pots you play, which will more than make up for the relatively few chips you've lost this time round.
If you really want to play the situation, then congratulate your opponent. Shrug your shoulders and tell him he played the hand well. Whatever you do, don't start berating him. If you start intimidating him, you'll put him off his "natural game."
Don't Bluff
When your playing against fish, bluffing very rarely works. The simple reason for this is that your opponents aren't smart enough to know when they should lay down their hands ... and as we've seen above, they'll generally call with anything. So no matter how well you think you're representing a strong hand, if you don't have it, don't play it!
No limping either!
When you're playing against fish, you need to be following an aggressive strategy. Whereas limping into value pots with a weak hand may make sense against better players, it's just not worth it when you're playing against fish.
Instead, wait until you're dealt a good hand and raise before the flop. If your hand continues to grow in strength, then keep on betting. If you're sat in late position, then you can lower your betting requirements slightly as you will know how much it's going to cost you to stay in the action.
Summary
If you're playing fish, then keep your game simple and aggresive. There's just no point doing anything other than playing your strong hands well. The irony is that you may well feel like you're playing an amazingly obvious game and that you're opponents must be about to pick up on your strategy at any moment.
The truth is, that more often than not they won't. In fact, that's the great thing about fish poker sites - no matter how many times in a row you fold, once you start betting strong on a good hand, you can still expect to see a fair bit of action.
You see the fish aren't interested in you, or any of the other opponents at the table. They're thinking of nothing more than their own cards, and even if they know they don't have much of a hand, they still can't bring themselves to fold because the thought that the very next card might turn their hand into a monster is just too tempting!!
