Online poker has been around long enough that the majority of your opponents have read some sort of basic strategy by now.  As a result the games have gotten a little tighter over the years.  That doesn't mean you have to settle for a lower winrate, though.  Oh no, you should still DEMAND the same (or better) winrate you've always had.

You do this by adjusting to the new games and the new styles your opponents bring to the table.  Here's the real deal:  Most people are too lazy or uninterested to make the effort at learning real poker strategy and becoming profitable.  There's nothing wrong with that, they all have their own lives and interests.  To them, poker is just a fun past time, similar to spending money at the craps tables.

Yes it is true that you won't be as likely to see people playing 72o under the gun these days, but that doesn't mean your opponents don't have massive leaks out there waiting to be exploited.  They just aren't as obvious as they used to be.  The basic strategy they've read has taught them to play tight preflop, not to go broke with second pair and all that, but that's about it.  Most people don't feel like taking the time to learn the advanced tactics behind winning poker.

These days, you can't win by simply being tight in selecting your preflop hands and then playing ABC poker postflop.  It's not any harder now days, it's just different.  The times have changed.  Change bothers people so they bitch and moan about how hard everything has become.  It hasn't gotten harder!  It's just gotten different!

There are two reasons why picking on someone is a good exercise.  First of all, it will loosen up your opponent (and usually the entire table) and second of all, it will give you some great practice at beating up on those unimaginative, tight players who've read a little poker strategy.

You want to take care in picking your target.  You want to pick on someone who plays tight and isn't very creative or tricky.  You don't want to pick on a calling station because there's n o point in messing around with calling stations - you just play ABC against them.  You don't want to pick on a strong opponent because they will play back at you and make your job difficult.

The perfect opponent plays tight, straight-forward poker.  He might throw out continuation bets but gives up on them if he gets any action.  He doesn't make bluffs and doesn’t like playing on the turn or river without a strong hand.  The last requirement is that you have position on this opponent.  Don't pick someone sitting immediately to your left.

Now that you've picked the target, it's time to have some fun.  Every single time he raises preflop, I want you to 3-bet him.  It doesn't matter what you have, you just need to 3-bet every single preflop raise he makes.  This is the most irritating thing in the world for those tight, predictable opponents.  It's also a very obvious "F you, I'm coming for you" threat.  Eventually he's going to get mad and he will pull the occasional 4-bet all in.  At that point, you really do need a good hand to continue.

So now your target knows you've singled him out.  He doesn't know why, but by 3-betting him every single time, you've made it clear you want blood.  Next, you are going to float the hell out of this guy.  After he starts 4-betting your 3-bets, you can lower your 3-betting frequency and instead call some of his preflop raises.  It doesn't matter what cards you have because all you're going to do is float him every single time.

By using your position, you are going to make it as difficult as you can for him to win pots.  Call every single continuation bet he makes and bet the turn every single time he checks to you.  Occasionally you should raise his flop continuation bet instead of float.  This will accomplish the same thing as floating.

At this point, you are doing one of three things every single hand he raises preflop:

• Three-betting his preflop raise
• Floating him
• Raising his continuation bets

By messing with this opponent (the tight, predictable guy) you are taking him out of his comfort zone.  You're making him play big pots from out of position.

At some point, your opponent is going to make an adjustment.  Your job then is to watch for any change in his play and make sure you readjust to his adjustment.  If he just tightens up even more, you can keep on pushing him around while keeping an eye open for the occasional monster hand he's waiting for.

If he gets irritated and starts playing back at you, you're in good shape.  At this point, you'll have a couple of things working in your favor.  First of all, your opponent is angry and may not be making thinking as clearly as he usually does.  Second, you have a ridiculous image that's going to get your strong hands paid off.  Third, you still have the advantage of position.

Now all you have to do is patiently wait for a strong hand and maintain your image by messing with the opponent just often enough to keep him irritated.  If you want you can just slow all the way down until your opponent calms down, and then as soon as he does you can start messing with him again.

While you're doing all this, keep an eye on the chat box.  You'll be sure to see some little gems down there when you're singling someone out like that.  This is especially true if you re-raise with a really trashy hand and show down a winner with it.

Anyways, this strategy pretty much plays itself once you choose your target and use the above three tactics on him.  The main thing you need to watch out for is to keep yourself under control the whole time.  You are only messing with him…be ready to fold as soon as any of your weak hands take a little heat.  What you don't want to do is get drawn into a pissing contest with you and your target betting and raising each other.

If you just stick to the three tactics above, you'll get that opponent loosened right up.  From there on it's just a matter of waiting for a good hand and busting him.  Picking on a specific opponent is also a great way to improve your aggression timing and use of position.

Now get out there and do your thing, you big bully.