Amazingly enough, there are quite a few people out there that will play a winning session of poker and not quite comprehend why they’ve done so well.  Some of it could be chalked up to the fact that they’ve improved their skills since the last time they played.  Some of it could be that they’ve just become a great player over night. 

But the most likely explanation though for someone who has good sessions here and there and doesn’t realize why is that they are finding fish to play with.  No matter how much one wants to harp on how great their skills are, a lot of players know that in the end the major money will come from the players who can’t play poker.  Not from amazing duels between two exceptional players.

Just knowing that profitable games come from playing with a lot of really bad players doesn’t help one out though if they don’t know how to find them.  The truth is that fish will be found at every poker room and at every table.  But it’s the quantity of fish that really makes the difference. 

One thing that I do when I go fishing is to examine the player’s money counts as soon as I get in the room.  For example, if I jump in a six-max Pot Limit game and see that three out of the five players that were there before I entered have way over the maximum amount of money you’re allowed to enter with, I know that they’ve been doing something right.  And that something has probably been taking money from bad players.

If this is the case, I usually try and get out of the room if there are plenty of these types in there and go find another room.  In addition to doing this, I also try and play at the peek hours when players who don’t play poker for a living are on.  I find that when it’s late at night or early in the day, the grinders will be playing  to make their living. 

It’s definitely good to avoid these types and stick to the easier players.