Poker 'Aquarium'

The term 'Aquarium' isn't used quite as much these days - there is however still plenty of references to players being 'fish'. In poker, a player who is low skilled and is considered easy to beat is known as a 'fish' - so it's not a compliment. It's used when a player makes a play that didn't make sense in terms of reward and risk - a bad play. Low skilled players tend to overplay hands, they play too many hands and never know when to fold. They make a lot of bad plays, usually more through lack of knowledge more than anything else.

The term 'fish' is commonly branded about when a player calls a bet or goes all in with a really weak hand and of course wins - online this happens a lot!. The player on the receiving end of the bad beat will usually be the one to use the term. Fish are renound for calling bets when the odds behind the call just don't add up. These players play very much like low limit players and will make the call when there is a mere sniff of making a winning hand. Of course this isn't a great winning strategy as chasing cards costs money (keeping in mind you'll miss more than you hit).

The term aquarium, if you haven't guessed already, is used to describe a gathering of fish (or low skilled players), considered to be easy money. The term isn't limited to online play - it's universally understood regardless of where you're playing.

It should be added that where there are fish, there are also sharks (see more about the traits of a shark)- these players sit at the other end of the gene pool. A shark is a strong player who tends to dominate weaker players as they continually put players to the test by continual aggression.

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