HOW TO READ OTHER POKER PLAYERS

So you want to find out how to read you opponents to find out what cards they are holding? Well of course you do, because if you can work out what your opponent is holding, you will be able to make the most profitable plays at every opportunity. If you have a weak hand but you can see that your opponent has a weak hand also, you will be able to bluff them out of the pot and win yourself some money. Similarly, if you both have strong hands but your opponent’s is slightly better, you will be able to make a great money-saving fold. So the advantages of being able to read your opponents appear to look pretty good.

However, the ability to read opponents is not something that you are going to pick up overnight, as it is a skill that takes a lot of practice before you are able to use it correctly. Many amateur players like to think that they have some sort of sixth sense when it comes to reading players, when in reality they are just getting ahead of themselves and getting the odd lucky read every now and then. So although hand reading is something that will take a lot time and effort, there are a few pointers in this article to set you on your way to improve your ability to read your opponents.

How To Read Your Opponents

I would like to start by saying that reading opponents is never going to be as pin-point accurate as you think, neither is it going to be reliant on trying to finding little tells that your opponent might make. So its not as if you are going to be able to use your reading ability to confidently say that an opponent is holding AQ off suit because of the way that the scratch their nose, it just isn’t going to happen. The whole idea of reading opponents is much broader than this, and the key is to analyse the way an opponent plays by the way they bet or check in each situation.

Now this point is key… The best way to read an opponent is to analyse their betting patterns. This means that you should always think about why an opponent might be betting, and how much they are betting and why. If you ask yourself these questions at every opportunity, you will find that you will start to think outside the box and see the hand as a bigger picture, which is an incredibly useful way to read your opponent. Furthermore, if you get to see a showdown and see what cards an opponent was holding, you should try and keep in mind the way they play certain cards, so that you can use it to your advantage in future hands.

For example, if you notice that an opponent is betting heavily throughout the hand and turns over a completed flush at the river, you can comfortably infer that they are the type of player to bet draws. So stick this information in the back of your mind ready for the next time you come up against them in a hand. Similarly, if an opponent likes to check monster hands and slowplay them, then this is another key betting strategy from your opponent that you should remember for future reference. Because once again, betting patterns are key to reading your opponents.

Now as mentioned earlier, reading your opponents is never going to be pin-point accurate, and anyone that ever manages to guess the exact cards you are holding is just going to be lucky. Sure you can use your skill and informed knowledge to make an educated guess, but it’s never a good idea to try and convince yourself that an opponent has one specific hand. You have to give your opponent a range of hands depending on how they are playing, and keep an open mind to what they might be holding until you are provided with more information by the way they are betting, checking, calling or raising.

For example, if I see a tight player making a 4BB raise from an early position at a 10-seater table, I am going to make an informed decision and give that player a range that I can work with. Because I know that this player is tight, and they are making a strong raise from an early position, I can give this player a range of around AA,KK,QQ,AK. If this players was loose then I would obviously open up the range to include hands like JJ,TT,AQ,AJ and so on, but the key idea here is that I know this player is tight, so I can give them a comfortable range of potential hands.

Therefore if I do end up seeing a flop with this player, I can play my hand better because of the way I have provided my opponent with a set of likely hands in my head. So if I’m holding QQ and the flop comes KT3, I can comfortably make a fold because chances are that they have me beat, so I don’t want to continue with the hand.

If the player was very tight and there was further raise at the table from another player before it was my turn to act, then I would more than likely be folding my Queens before they flop. Because what could that other player be holding if the tight opponent is has a range of AA,KK,QQ,AK and they decide to raise them? A very strong hand indeed, and my Queens are just going to be second best in this pot.

A winning player is a thinking player, so every time you get to a river with a tough decision, ask you self the following types of questions… “Why did they play they did at the flop?” “Why did they play they did on the turn?” “Why did they play they did on the river?” If you can think about these questions and think clearly, you will be giving yourself the best opportunity to make a good read and thus a good play every time.

Summary

So there’s a quick 101 on reading the hands of your opponents in Poker. I’m not sure how enlightening you found it, but it’s good to have an idea of what you should look for when trying to figure out what your opponent is holding. Even the most experienced players in the world would be unable to accurately pin-point the hands that their opponents are holding most of the time, so don’t become phased or worried if your friends tell you stories of how they read their opponent’s hands perfectly. If they could really do that all of the time, they should be in Vegas earning thousands a day from the poker tables. So remember, just give your opponent a range, and play according to the range that you give them. It’s the best anyone can do.

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