Tips for Playing Against Drunk Poker Players

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Happy New Year from everyone at Best Poker Sites. Many of you had a great time and some of you maybe had too much of a great time. When you play in live poker games, you will often run across drunk players and sometimes they can present quite the challenge.

If you’ve ever found it difficult to beat drunk players, then continue reading. Today, we will present several tips that can help you defeat drunk poker players.

Tighten Up

Many players hate to play a tight strategy, especially in cash games. That’s understandable. However, when you’re playing against a drunk player, they are likely going to be playing a super loose style. This style can also present drastic swings to your bankroll when luck is on their side.

That’s why you want to tighten up your play a bit. We don’t mean to become a complete rock. However, you will want to come into fewer hands against them and try and battle with better holdings. Definitely still play your position against them, but don’t mix it up every single hand.

Defend Your Blinds More Often

Drunk players are going to be in many more pots and with a wide variety of holdings. They are probably going to be raising your blinds frequently. As such, you will want to defend your blinds more often against drunk players.

Be reasonable when defending. If you look down to 7-4 offsuit, that is not a reasonable hand for a blind defense. However, something like K-9 suited is perfectly acceptable.

Watch for Betting Patterns

One thing that drunk people do is overcompensate. Often, they know that they are drunk or buzzed and there are times they are going to purposely overcompensate.

For example, if a drunk player that has been betting wildly or has been consistently loud suddenly clams up during a hand, they probably just woke up with a monster. They don’t want to screw up how they play it and overcompensate.

Changes in betting patterns will be painfully obvious in many cases with drunk players. When it happens, adjust accordingly.

Force the Action in Big Hands

Players that are drunk will not have the best judgment and may not slow down in spots they should. When you wake up with a big hand or back into a monster, you may be able to get away with pushing the action more than normal.

Chances are that your opponent is going to be and call much more frequently than what’s normal. As such, large bets, overbets, and even shoves have a better chance of getting called. If they are the type of player that likes to try and bet players out of a pot, don’t be afraid to let them bet. Then you can try and pump the pot to try and stack them.

Not All Drunks Play the Same Way

We should provide the caveat that the effectiveness of this tip is based on how intoxication impacts your opponent. There are some poker players who are still able to make solid poker decisions while drunk. However, the average drunk player will develop massive leaks.

The best thing to do is to test out a couple of moves to see what works and what doesn’t. In a few hands, you should be able to gauge what tactics will work.

Also, if you are playing long sessions, keep in mind that intoxication can wear off if they are not still drinking. As such, you may need to adjust their strategy as they sober up. Either that, or you can buy them a drink, make a new friend, and probably stack them.