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Like in chess for example - a kind of player who has more trouble with extreme novices than people their own level is someone who knows how the game “should” be

Like in chess for example - a kind of player who has more trouble with extreme novices than people their own level is someone who knows how the game “should” be played, but doesn’t actually have the skill to go off-book themselves or punish mistakes when an opponent deviates. An actually strong player won’t have that problem.

sunnyps 6y ago
Except that chess is a perfect information game, but poker is not. Which means it's possible to tell if your opponent made a mistake in chess, but it might not be in poker. Disclaimer: chess novice, don't know anything about poker.
- pcthrowaway 6y ago
  Playing poker against very novice players makes it a more volatile game. You might lose big and you might win big, but that's actually good for your EV; the beginner has no concept of bet sizing and that's where you shine. An expert playing against many intermediate player may end up winning on average 5 big blinds / hr over the course of a month. They'll certainly have losing sessions as well. An expert playing against beginners might 'lose' 50% of the hands they get involved in still, and make a ton more money on the ones they win. It's the difference between an average of 5 big blinds / hr, and 50 big blinds / hr. I'm not an expert by the way, I just consider myself an 'advanced beginner', who can count on making $2-4 / hr playing 1/2 no limit at the casino (based on having played maybe 200 hrs of poker in the casino). Not worth it as a way to make money, and I stopped caring enough about poker to invest the time to become better. But you can see the entire dynamic at a table change when a loose, novice player sits down. Players no longer play against each other as much because they can count on the loose player to raise the stakes, and they're much more likely to capitalize on that.
watwut 6y ago
In chess, really no one has problems beating extreme novice. You just take their pieces as they leave them hanging and that is it.

sunnyps 6y ago

Except that chess is a perfect information game, but poker is not. Which means it's possible to tell if your opponent made a mistake in chess, but it might not be in poker. Disclaimer: chess novice, don't know anything about poker.

pcthrowaway 6y ago
Playing poker against very novice players makes it a more volatile game. You might lose big and you might win big, but that's actually good for your EV; the beginner has no concept of bet sizing and that's where you shine. An expert playing against many intermediate player may end up winning on average 5 big blinds / hr over the course of a month. They'll certainly have losing sessions as well. An expert playing against beginners might 'lose' 50% of the hands they get involved in still, and make a ton more money on the ones they win. It's the difference between an average of 5 big blinds / hr, and 50 big blinds / hr. I'm not an expert by the way, I just consider myself an 'advanced beginner', who can count on making $2-4 / hr playing 1/2 no limit at the casino (based on having played maybe 200 hrs of poker in the casino). Not worth it as a way to make money, and I stopped caring enough about poker to invest the time to become better. But you can see the entire dynamic at a table change when a loose, novice player sits down. Players no longer play against each other as much because they can count on the loose player to raise the stakes, and they're much more likely to capitalize on that.

watwut 6y ago

In chess, really no one has problems beating extreme novice. You just take their pieces as they leave them hanging and that is it.