4 replies to this topic

[Joe Mulli]

I really need good help on this subject. What are the motions that you players go though when your in a pot, (not talking about bulffing) When you have flopped top pair and 1-2 players keep calling your bets. Or your in position and a player just best out huge, or small. Thanks

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Remember to get some stank on your hang low

[ErikM]

The best way to get good at and reading is to put a player on a variety of hands and begin to eliminate hands using the exposed cards and the players actions.Try doing this on all hands including the ones you are not involved with. After a while you will start to get good at putting people on a hand.When you are faced with a decession run through the previous actions of that player and ask yourself if his actions fit the particular hand you think he may have.It's really a trial and error process... but practice makes perfect.

[TheIceman05]

Ask yourself the following questions about every player:1) What starting hands will he limp with? What starting hands will he raise with? What starting hands will he cold-call 2 bets with? Put him into a category. Loose aggressive, tight aggressive, loose passive, tight passive.2) How does he play his draws? Is he the type of player that will raise from late position with a flush/straight draw? Will he bet into the pot from early position?3) Does he like to check raise? Etc.So you're putting together a little portfolio. If you know the possible range of hands he has, you're on your way. If he's not playing 86 no matter what, your JJ is probably good when the flop comes 579. If he's a calling station, keep value betting into him. If he's tight aggressive, 3 bets you before the flop, and then raises the flop, you need to slow down, because he's probably got a big hand. But if he's loose-aggressive, go ahead and reraise, because he might have A high, or middle pair or some weak draw. Think LOGICALLY. What is he MOST likely to have? What's his style? If someone's checking and calling, and suddenly fires at the pot on the river, look at the board texture. Did the flush come? Did he make his straight? Or is he capable of bluffing at this scare card?Imagine you have AA. The flop comes down QJ2, with a pair of hearts. You bet out and are called in two spots. The turn is a blank. Again, you're called in two spots. The river is the 8 of hearts. You bet, are called in one spot, and raised. Unless you opponents are donkeys, you just lost. Might not be smart to lay this hand down, due to the size of the pot, but most assuredly beaten. What could be POSSIBLY be raising with here, against one caller? Could he raise with just a queen? Logic.Ice

[wrto4556]

TheIceman05 said:

Ask yourself the following questions about every player:1) What starting hands will he limp with?  What starting hands will he raise with?  What starting hands will he cold-call 2 bets with?  Put him into a category.  Loose aggressive, tight aggressive, loose passive, tight passive.2)  How does he play his draws?  Is he the type of player that will raise from late position with a flush/straight draw?  Will he bet into the pot from early position?3) Does he like to check raise?  Etc.So you're putting together a little portfolio.  If you know the possible range of hands he has, you're on your way.  If he's not playing 86 no matter what, your JJ is probably good when the flop comes 579.  If he's a calling station, keep value betting into him.  If he's tight aggressive, 3 bets you before the flop, and then raises the flop, you need to slow down, because he's probably got a big hand.  But if he's loose-aggressive, go ahead and reraise, because he might have A high, or middle pair or some weak draw.  Think LOGICALLY.  What is he MOST likely to have?  What's his style?  If someone's checking and calling, and suddenly fires at the pot on the river, look at the board texture.  Did the flush come?  Did he make his straight?  Or is he capable of bluffing at this scare card?Imagine you have AA.  The flop comes down  QJ2, with a pair of hearts.  You bet out and are called in two spots.  The turn is a blank.  Again, you're called in two spots.  The river is the 8 of hearts.  You bet, are called in one spot, and raised.  Unless you opponents are donkeys, you just lost.  Might not be smart to lay this hand down, due to the size of the pot, but most assuredly beaten.  What could be POSSIBLY be raising with here, against one caller?  Could he raise with just a queen?  Logic.Ice

This was going to be my post...ice hi-jacked it.PS> Im sure it's been mentioned, but go through every street. Put him on a hand pre-flop, using the guide lines above, then eliminate on the flop, using the guide above, then on the turn...you get it.

[UglyJimStudly]

I'm not a natural people-reader, but I work at being as good as I can at the poker table. What I do:- pay close attention to all hands I'm not involved in; look for tells and try to put everybody on a range of hands. I find when I'm not playing a hand, it's much easier to pick up on patterns and tells, since there's no wishful thinking clouding my judgement.- never watch the cards being dealt. On the flop, watch how people react to it rather than watching the dealer flip the cards over; they'll still be there when you do look at them. Ditto the turn and river.- watch for overacting. Real tells tend to be pretty subtle and innocuous, fake tells are as obvious and showy as possible. At the lower limits where I usually play, fake tells almost always mean the player has the opposite of whatever he's selling.My favourite example of the latter is "going into the tank". Last night in one hand I had a set, but it was vulnerable because there was a flush draw on the board and I was pretty sure one of my opponents was chasing it. I watched him as the dealer dealt the river card. He looked at the board, let out a big sigh, then hunched down over his cards and looked at them, as if going into the thinking tank to ponder what to do. He then reluctantly picked up his chips and bet, where every previous round he'd check-called. It was a great performance, Oscar material, and I didn't even have to look at the board to know he'd hit his flush on the river. I folded with clear conscience, and as a bonus a guy with top pair called so I got to see the flush at the showdown.