Fixed-rate credit

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Quote of the day: “For twenty-five years when I have raised with a big up-card in stud, I have invariably had a big pair. But they always think I don’t have it this time and they call me.” David Grey


In the last post on credit we saw how playing opposite to your perceived style, credit rating, or image, will produce profitable opportunities in poker. We can break our opponents into two broad categories when they issue us a credit rating. One category is people who will give you a credit rating based upon how they see you play, we call these “adjustable-rate creditors” and they are abundant at high stakes and although less common at low stakes, there are still plenty of them there too. The other category is players who will issue us their “default” credit rating and never adjust it simply because they don’t bother to pay enough attention to what you are doing. This second category is rampant at small stakes, while rare at higher stakes. We will call them “fixed-rate creditors.” Realize that these are the opposite ends of the spectrum and there are many players who fit somewhere in the grey area in between, but most players usually have a heavy leaning toward one or the other.

As for fixed-rate creditors, they rarely bother to update your rating to the true credit rating that you deserve. This means that you can have a very profitable situation against these players by playing a style which is different than the credit they are giving you. These players are mostly casual internet players, players playing for entertainment in local games, or tourists on vacation. On the internet, games are so quick and have such a high turnover rate, and there is often nothing to tell the difference between players except a screen-name. These players won’t notice the difference between “Spankme69” and “EuropeRick” no matter how different those two guys might play. As far as live games, the entertainment players and tourists are there to enjoy themselves, and trying to figure out a game-plan to play against various players seems too much like “work” to them.

So how do we handle fixed-rate creditors? This is easy, and it is what makes low stakes very profitable and much easier to beat than higher stakes games. First of all, realize what makes up someone’s default rating. Normally they issue you a credit rating similar to the style they play themselves. After all, if they play that way, they assume you will to, no matter how differently you actually play from them. Their default rating might also consist of the style that is normally played in their home games or the style played on the poker they watch on TV. In the case of the internet, they default you to the “typical” online player. While most of these players issue default credit ratings that are similar to each other, also recognize when they are not. For instance, a tight by-the-book player who doesn’t observe others well will assume you will not bet big without a big hand, so you can steal pots from him. But typically, the default ratings are very loose, low credit ratings that fall somewhere between thinking you are a LAG (loose-aggressive player) and LAP (loose-passive player). In general, they usually assume you want to play a lot of ands and will bet and raise with a wide range. They assume that you will bluff somewhat often, so here is where the LAG looses on bluffs but gains on value betting. The fact that these fixed-rate creditors are so abundant in low stakes cash games means that playing a generally TAGish style usually gets their money because you simply fold bad hands and get paid off for good ones. If you can throw in a little bit of a LAGish value betting against these players as well, more power to you. The lack of understanding this (or lacking the patience to play TAG) is often frustrating for players and causes them to make ridiculous statements like “higher stakes games are easier to beat.” While complete LAG can be more fun and you might learn better skills for when you graduate to higher stakes, it is more difficult to play and usually won’t make any more money than a simple TAG game, and often less.

Do keep in mind though, even though you will normally be issued a loose, low, fixed-rate credit rating by many low stakes players, there are subtle differences in some of these default creditors. So if you pay attention, you can formulate a slightly different plan of attack against each one. Some will pay off value bets more than others, some will fold to scary boards more than others. Watch what they do against other players. If they give credit for a good hand on a scary board and lay down against one player, they will likely give you the same credit and lay down to you even if you are a well-known bluffer. If they pay off river bets with one pair against a loose player, they will likely do the same against a tight player. If they always bet when checked to against one player, they are likely to do it against you even if you constantly check-raise. They usually won’t adjust to this until they have been check-raised to death, and if they do adjust, they will usually adjust for the entire table and not just the check-raiser. If they call raises with KT, they assume you will too. If they refuse to fold top pair, they assume you will too and will bet their two pair into your set or well hidden straight all day. If they chase flushes, they assume you will too, so if you flop a boat and a flush comes out you may lose your fish. If they like to bluff, they assume you will too and will pay off your value bets and call down your bluff attempts. If they talk about poker on TV, they will assume you play like the guys on TV and might push all-in with QJ preflop and they will happily call with AJ. In general, the more opposite you can make your actual style against this player’s default credit rating, the more you can make from that player.

Also, watch for some who may smarten up after a while and decide to adjust your credit to closer to the way you actually play. Remember, these are not dumb people, just not experienced or responsive poker players. Eventually, a little something you do may resonate with them, but it usually takes a long while to sink in until they make an adjustment.

Next time: adjustable-rate credit