Reading Your Poker Opponents
We have all watched poker tournament television and seen some players make reads on their opponents that might have some of us wondering if they were indeed psychic. Two players will bet down to the river card and one will muck his hand with a comment that his opponent must be holding two specific cards and sure enough those are the exact two cards that the other player has. To many viewers it may almost seem supernatural but in essence it is one of the skills that separate the great players from their competition. Reading your opponents hand is one of the key skills that must be developed in order for a player to succeed in the higher limit games and tournaments.
A Vital Skill
Reading your opponents to determine what cards they are holding is part science and part art or psychology.
It is not an easy skill to learn, if it was everyone would be doing it and the games would be a lot harder to beat. It takes hard work and patience to develop your reading skill. It also involves paying attention during the game even when you are not actively involved in a hand. Reading the Board
One of the first skills that a Hold
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One Response to “Reading Your Poker Opponents”
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I love your post on reading poker opponents. You have captured most of the key areas needed to read your players and put them on a hand. With the information you outlined you are able to narrow the possible starting hands to a small list that fits the pattern you have observed.
In addition to your list I have found that paying attention to the stack sizes of your opponents is also an important piece of information, especially when they are on a small stack. For example, are they the type to wait until they get a big ace or pair before pushing? Or will they push with any two cards if they are the first to act? In addition, observing how (or if) they change their starting hand requirements based on their M (ratio of stack size to starting pot). Do they play tighter or looser with larger or smaller stacks. Will they play small pairs when their M drops below 20. So on and so forth.
Again, great post.