Dealing with “experts” at the poker tables

There is an all too often occurrence at the poker tables nowadays, and it doesn’t matter whether you play online poker or partake in the game at a brick & mortar card-room; the problem I speak of is dealing with an “Expert”. We all know the “Expert”, they dissect the most innocuous hands of poker like a 10^th grade biology student cutting up a frog, or they decide to point out the other players’ shortcomings for all to hear.

The worst part of the “Expert” is that typically they have no idea what they are talking about! Furthermore, the smaller the stakes of the game, the more likely you are to hear the expert’s mating call -think Screech from Saved by the Bell. Perhaps the most peculiar part of the “Expert’s” verbal assaults is that they love to call out winning players as fish -like I said they really don’t know what they are talking about.

Now typically you don’t want to tap the glass, but unfortunately the “Expert” is tapping the glass with a sledgehammer, so the best way to deal with them is to point out their flawed logic, even if this marks you as a good player. It’s important for the other players to know that the obnoxious bully know-it-all is simply a bad player that is just frustrated at losing.

Here is a real-world example of the “Expert” in action: The game is shallow-stack, small-stakes PLO, and just about every player has roughly 50BB. Yours truly has a fairly nice holding with 7s-8s-Tc-Jh and I bring it in for a 3x the blind raise -my standard opening size. The action goes re-raise, and re-raise before getting back to me, and I just call even though I have only about 20BB left, because I know all three players are going to be all-in regardless of the flop, and I’m not folding a mid-run getting 2-to-1 on my money. The Expert, who was the initial re-raiser, pushes and it’s a 3-handed all-in to the flop. The other player scoops the pot and the “Expert” starts in on me for calling!

Now as far as I can tell my play was pretty standard, and even if it was slightly -EV  based on the particular matchups, which I can’t imagine to be the case, it’s by no means a horrible mistake. So the “Expert” keeps on yapping about everyone’s play, and how terrible I am playing 78TJ after two raises. Obviously our “Expert” doesn’t get the idea of equity: my calculations have me with about 35% equity against AAxx and KKxx if my flush is live and 31% if it’s not. Furthermore, if they both have AAxx I’m over 40%, so calling 47BB to win 104BB’s seems a no brainer to me. And like I said, even if my calculations are off a bit my call is never horrendous.

So, I finally asked the “Expert” if he is in the habit of folding mid-runs getting over 2-to-1 on his money? His response was: “2 to 1??? Whatever, you’re up against Aces!” Ah, the rationale of the poker Expert, you have to love them!