Where does all this money come from?

Sitting in late position in a 1/3 NL game at Caesar's Palace, I picked up 56s and was up against a raise from a skinny college kid. I read him for a strong hand that he wouldn't be able to get away from.

The flop came 66x. He bet. I raised all in. Knowing he was beat, the kid said, "Well, I have to call." He turned over KK and I raked in a $500 pot (he had a halfstack).

Then my name was called for the 2/5 game a couple of tables away. After a couple of hours, a pot was limped about six ways to me in the big blind. I had TT, and I bumped it up to $60. Everyone folded, including the European dude who mucked, saying, "That's just an insane raise. I don't know why people make such obvious raises preflop with middle pocket pairs."

Without showing my cards, I told him different opponents might interpret such a raise in different ways. But I knew that was my queue to get up from that table. It wasn't as profitable anymore.

In the first hand, I called with suited connectors knowing that I had implied odds to get paid off on an all-in bet if I hit hard. At the second table, I got a clear signal that my opponents were watching my game and may start to play back at me.

Whether evaluating a hand or choosing a seat, the most important factors are judging your hand, your skills, your position, your image compared to your opponents'. Put simply, you need an edge.

It isn't enough to play marginally better than the other donks at your table. When you're sitting at a table full of formulaic Internet players, it doesn't matter too much if you can make a move at a pot every hour or two. Among moderately competent opposition, profits will tend to be smaller because their leaks aren't as obvious.

No, you don't want to be at tables like that.

Most of the money doesn't come from tight, average players. The money comes from the maniacs, the crazies, the calling stations, the limpers, the chronic folders, the fish who can't ever lay down QQ or the monkey who never raises his Aces because he's afraid he won't get action.

Profits come from fools who rarely attempt to steal from the button, who let people in for cheap with minimum raises. They come from suicidal bluffs and hopeless crying calls. They come from weak players who raise preflop less than 5 percent of the time or call too many bets cold.

Winning at poker isn't a matter of outplaying everyone else at your table. Instead it's about finding the biggest idiot you can, sitting directly to his left and making high percentage plays such as consistent value bets.

Where does all this money come from? It isn't from being the best player at the table, nor from gambling above your bankroll at higher limits.

The easy money in poker is held by those most willing to give it away. Pick on them to be a winner.