4 replies to this topic

[PrtyPSux]

I read a post a yesterday that talked about stu ungar playing heads up putting his opponent on a 4,5 or 5,6 and calling an all in with 10 high!! that's amazing, I have a huge problem reading what people have (its wierd cuz online I make the best reads and in live games I just cant put anyone on a hand). My problem w/ reading people is something that can be fixed and probably will improve as I gain experience, but I have an even worse problem which is that I cant make the call or the fold even though Im pretty sure of what the other guy has, I just think that Im risking to much just based on an educated guess. I have seen Mike Caro's Pro Poker Tells, and every time I see a tell during a live game I still have those second thoughts you know, Like that he might be covering his mouth because he's strong, or that maybe he's shakes when he's bluffing and not when he's strong, things like that. The point is I suck at reading and even worse at sticking with my reads, I am amazed to see Daniel put Deeb on A9, or luske with his amazing reads HOW DO THEY DO IT! any advice would be apreciated...

[tekn0wledg]

There was an article in cardplayer about putting someone on a hand and how/when to change them based on their reactions to your bet/check/raise in a certain situation etc.I wouldn't weigh solely on physical tells to make your hand. If you find yourself second guessing go with your initial instinct. The other thing is, you generally don't want to convince yourself that someone else has a hand that he may/may not. If your read is that they have nothing, then play as if they have nothing. Don't sit there and convince yourself "well, maybe he has a pair." It's unhealthy poker play to get into that habit and could cause problems down the line.

[copernicus]

highly unreliable and can be faked too easily, especially when a book like Caro's tells an actor how to act or not to act.The best reads come from knowledge of a specific opponents betting tendencies with different types of hands (trapping, check raising, all in etc) and without that specific knowledge replaying a hand mentally thinking "would a reasonable person have played XX" this way, weighted by the probability that he could have been dealt XX.

[DiverDown4]

I peronally never look at people for physical reads. Many players use physical reads way too much. Betting patterns is the biggest tell in the world, so why look to see if i a guy is shaking or covering his mouth or whatever? My suggestion is to throw out the physical reads and look for betting patterns, thats all you need. One last thing, you remember the S.A.T's? The first thing they tell you is to trust your first instinct when choosing an answer, never second guess. Thats huge in poker, if youre wrong youre wrong, you'll get better with experience.

[Smasharoo]

The point is I suck at reading and even worse at sticking with my reads, I am amazed to see Daniel put Deeb on A9, or luske with his amazing reads HOW DO THEY DO ITThey don't.They analyze betting patterns to find a range of likely hands that someone may have.You just selectively recall the times they turn out to be right. If Daniel had to keep a log of every hand he played and what he thought opponents had specifically he'd probably be right about 1 time in 20.If you let him choose 10 hands they might have he'd probably be right most of the time.