Poker tournaments welcome all kinds of players who have big and small stacks, are more or less experienced, and skills that make them different from each other. You may have heard people calling other players a fish. What does that mean? Poker players are sometimes addressed as fishes and sharks living in a poker ecosystem. Many players do not realize which category they belong to, oblivious to the fish vs. shark phenomenon. Today, we will discuss the difference between fishes and sharks in poker while also learning which type of animal you are.

Fishes in Poker

If you are a smart player, you know that folding a bad hand pre-flop is better than relying on your luck. Smart players fold their hands immediately due to a bad pocket. They focus on winning the entire game rather than winning a particular hand. On the other hand, some players want to win every hand even if it is slightly a good hand. These players cannot accept defeat and their strategy always remains aggressive. They are focused on winning every battle rather than winning the war.

These types of players are called fishes. They keep betting, trying to win every round of poker but forget to win exponentially. Fishes are generally the newcomers in poker who are dedicated to making a career in poker but do not have the right experience to make decisions for long-term success.
Fishes are careless players. They bet too often and raise the stakes unnecessarily. They do not know when they should fold and blow their bankroll almost every day. If you find a player with an “all-in” strategy every now and then, they are probably a fish. They cannot keep up their poker face, give out information without knowing. Some of the fishes also believe that they know everything about poker and consider themselves sharks.

Sharks in Poker

The real sharks in poker are the opportunists who are heartless when it comes to eating the fish. They have only one motive at the poker tables – to make money. The fishes hate playing against sharks. But the sharks stay one step ahead by not scaring the fishes away while they feed on them. Sharks want to play among fishes so they can slowly collect every chip on the table and leave the fishes broke.

Sharks do not feel defeated when they lose a hand. They focus on the entire pot by calculating their odds carefully without listening to their gut feeling. This is why sharks are the most dangerous animals on the tables. They have the experience of years to even attack the richest players who are not afraid to play aggressively at high stakes. Poker sharks have the tendency to emerge victoriously and should be dealt with carefully. The best advice for any fish is to leave the table if a shark joins a game. It is a smart move and can help you in your journey to becoming a shark yourself.