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How To Read Opponents.

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Reading your opponents correctly in online poker is one of the most important abilities you need to master if you ever intend to be a reasonable poker player. No it's not going to make you a 'good' p-layer all by itself, but without it you won't ever become a player to reckon with, in the first place.

Reading opponents in real brick and mortar poker is fairly easy. There are a bunch of tells that will provide you with a flood of precious and releveant information regarding what your opponents hold in the pocket and what they intend to do with it. You might ask why reading opponents is important... Some players consider that it's enough not to let other players know what you're up to, keep them in the dark, that is, but they're wrong. What oyu need to achieve is that all other players at the table, or at keast the ones that treally matter, know what they have to do against you. You need to provide good counterintelligence, and that is impossible without you knowing where these guys stand in the first place.

All right let's then see what the tells - you will use to read your opponents - are: Acting.

Most players like to act. They somehow feel that if they're in posession of a strong hand they shouldn't just sit around like there was nothing going on... they feel this is something big they're on to and they need to do something to protect their chance, and of course, lure as many other players as possible into a trap. For that reason, they'll start acting overly disinterested. A poker player should never be desinterested. Nobody comes to the poker table because he's not interested in the game. Even a person who holds a very weak hand is interested. He might bluff on it or hope for a straight or a flush. The only player who is not interested in a hand, is the one who's already folded his.

On the other hand, players who try to bluff, will often try to seem extra confident when raising. That could be a tell that they don't really have anything in the pocket.

Facial expression is the next best thing to look for. We humans communicate a complicated array of emotions via facial expressions. We've pretty much become masters of this form of communication, in fact so much so, that we cannot help using it all the time. The best thing would be to wear a full-face helmet or otherwise fully conceal the face, but the next best thing is wearing shades. The eyes are one of the most telltale components of the human face, concealing them, will offer some advantage.

If you thought only your face was giving away precious classified information, think again. Bodylanguage and body-posture is another interesting way to get a read ona person. Someone holdong a weak hand tends to adopt the 'hanging shoulder' look. The person holding a monster, on the other hand will prepare for confrontation. It is also a natural human reaction to send out signals to your opponent that you're ready to stand your ground and you won't back off. These signals are relatively easy to pick up from the bodylanguage of the opponent. You'd better face it: when playing, you're like an open book to a person who is adept at reading opponents. You will need to develop your skills as well, so you're not left at a disadvantage.

Betting patterns are one of the most universal poker tells ( I'm saying that, because it is something that'll also be available in online poker opposed to the other tells mentioned so far) If a person always folds on a reraise, or always checks when he has the nuts, you'll know how to treat him in each of these situations.

Chip stacking: be on the lookout, not only for how a player fondles his/her chips before acting, but also how he/she keeps those chips. A huge helter-skelter on the table, in front of the player, indicates a loose personality. A tight player is tidy, keeps his/her chips staked ready for every possibility.

Last but not least comes double checking the pocket cards. Whenever a player goes for the flush draw, he has the tendancy to check his pocket cards again. That's because most players only remember that they have two cards of different suits but won't remember the suit exactly.

Mastering the above skills takes some time and effort on your part, but at least when you get it right you will no longer be the fish at the table.

- by James West

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