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How to Read Your Opponent
Author: Daphne Greene  | Posted: 04-04-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 11 | Rating: (59)  (?) 
The difference between a poker player and a gambler is simple - a gambler plays his cards while a poker player plays his opponent's. While each player's ability to identify or read their opponent is ultimately an attribute unique to the specific player, here are a few basic ways to get started:
1. Watch the Betting: The single most important aspect to any poker player's game is their betting pattern. Do they raise pre-flop a lot? Do they play tight? Are they looking to pounce on any check? Do they call a lot? Many players will even take notes at the poker table to keep track of betting history. In fact, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer takes discursive notes on every hand and WPT star Gus Hansen uses a voice recorder at the table. Once you have identified the general betting proclivity of a player then you are able to take advantage of them by forcing them into difficult decisions. Players who are tight generally don't like to deal with pre-flop raises, while loose and aggressive players will often stick their poker chips into a pot they have no business being in. Identify when a player is likely to be weak then take their money.
2. Watch them Look at their Cards: A big difference between experienced sharks and novice flounders is when each player looks at their hole cards. The novice will immediately check to see what they are holding once their cards get to them, while the shark waits. The shark will survey the table and look at the other players look at their cards before checking his own. The shark is looking for any physical clue from the premature checkers of their hole cards that will signal their hand strength. Most of the time, the shark will see nothing of specific importance - most of the time people don't flare their right nostril when they pick up Jacks. But every now and again, the shark will see something worth noting. Perhaps it is a sudden change in the speed which a player checks his cards that signals a big pocket pair. Perhaps the player goes immediately to his chips, preparing a bet. Perhaps the player takes a deep breath in to cleanse himself of the frustration of yet another trash hand. Anything a player does at a table can be a subconscious betrayal of their hand. Now as sexy as it may seem to recognize an opponent's hand through a twitch in his eyebrow, it really does not happen that often. Be careful to not put too much emphasis on these so-called "physical tells"- they are just another piece of the puzzle. You are not a psychic. Betting pattern is much more telling than tells.
3. The Opposite Rule: In Mike Caro's "Book of Tells", Caro lays out a pretty basic guideline - when a player is trying to look strong he is actually weak and when a player is trying to look weak he is actually strong. Even though this is a terribly reductive mantra, there is a certain truth to it. Players seldom go all-in on the flop because they want you to call, just as players don't tend to bet one tenth of the pot on the river because they want you to fold. That said, be careful when applying this logic because you can find yourself in a quandary, "But what if they bet big knowing that I'd see it as a sign of weakness and it's actually a sign of strength by being a sign of weakness - an opposite opposite play!" In actuality, Mike Caro's "Book of Tells" contains a lot more than just the Opposite Rule and even offers advice on discerning the difference between actual tells and false tells made by poker actors as it were. While identifying physical tells is far from a science, Caro's "Book of Tells" is widely regarded as the best book to undertake a systematic research on tells. If you're really stuck on tells and want to learn more, you'd be well-suited to start there.
4. Patience, Patience, Patience: Take your time at the poker table. Figure out what is going on and then make a decision. Many players sit down at a poker table and play only the most premium of hands until they have a good read on each player. Once they feel confident with their reads, they will open up their game and start to attack each specific player. Especially in cash games when the blinds are constant, there is really no need to rush into pots with mediocre hands. Take time to watch players check their cards before you check your own, and wait until you develop a solid read before you spring into action - patience is a chief ally at the poker table.
5. Read and React: There are players without reads on their opponents, there are players with reads on their opponents and there are players with reads who use them to their advantage. You have to use your read for it to be worth anything! If you've watched a player raise on the button the last three times it made it around to him, use that to your advantage - set him up for a check raise. Or if you've watched someone fold twelve hands in a row then come in for a raise, maybe you should give him credit for a pocket pair. It is remarkable what you can discover that you already know when you have confidence in your ability to know it. After Kenny Tran made the call of the 2007 WSOP Main Event (He correctly called $1,300,000 holding AD-8S, on a board that read 7H 8H 3H 2H 2D), half baffled at his own play, he chanted, "How did I know that? How did I know that?"
So when you sit down to play, your first goal should not be to pick up Aces but to get some solid reads of the players at your table. And once you feel satisfied with your read, use it! Remember that poker at its highest level ends up as most things do in life - a contest between your ability to see the right choice and your ability to make the right choice.
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