The shark analogy has been adopted from the sea world, where sharks are often at the top of the food chain, eating small fish, and getting the most out of them. In the poker world, sharks are experienced poker players who often know how to spot inexperienced opponents and take all their money.
Every player wants to be the hunter rather than the hunted and to do that, you need to follow some rules. Let’s check them out.
Sharks Play in an Unpredictable Way
Experienced sharks are always using a combination of bluffs, semi-bluffs, and hands that have real value. Therefore, they are very difficult to see through as you never know what their next move will be.
They don’t have that mentality where they play only the good hands and check or call on the ones that aren’t that good but can think in ranges and adapt their strategy accordingly. Speaking of adaptation, sharks can adapt their style of play to every table.
Poker Shark Can Adapt to Various Scenarios
Poker sharks are able to determine the table pace and style and adapt their style to get the most out of the fish playing at that table. For example, if players are overall tight at the table they’re playing in, poker sharks will adapt their strategy.
The same goes for a table that consists of loose players. Sharks will always know when someone is tilting and seize the opportunity to squeeze every last penny from the tilting player.
Sharks Are Often More Aggressive Than an Average Player
A poker shark will often display aggression against fish. This is a purely psychological thing to assert dominance at the table.
Simply put, newbies are not always sure what to do in some situations, and aggression can often scare them into folding, which is one of the ways sharks make a profit when playing against fish.
Poker Sharks Study a Lot
Not everyone can be a poker shark. This requires a lot of hard work and dedication to the game, and you sometimes need to make poker your primary job to do it successfully and get the most from the fish.
Many professional players who pose as sharks do their homework even when they are not playing the game. You’ll often find them reading books about poker, watching useful strategy videos, and practicing the game as often as possible.
It’s definitely not an easy thing to pull off, as you have to dedicate a lot of time to become a dangerous shark.
Poker Sharks Understand Their Emotions
Emotions can often make us do things that aren’t really the best possible choice. That’s why poker sharks have their emotions under control — they ensure that they will always bring the best possible decision for every given hand.
They never tilt but are rather the ones who profit from other players tilting.