How to Read Your Opponents Cards: Part 2

In the previous article we saw how a call or a fold could be interpreted to garner information about our opponent's game. Even if this type of consideration has some value, there is always an element of doubt and some guess work must be made of your opponents gaming style. The major tenet to begin playing from holds that you must suppose that your opponents play a logical game of poker. This logic, therefore, will not necessarily apply to poor players, and it is even harder to read them. Experienced players can use this information and reverse it in order that their opponents cannot read their game either.

Unfortunately, poker players have different playing styles, and so consequently we are going to discuss these different types of play.

Your opponents will give you information on the strength of their hand each time that they call or raise:
This is a very important means of getting information, and one that most people forget. Each time that your opponent raises at the flop, there is a strong possibility that your opponent has a good hand. You must also take into account the position that they are in, be that Under the Gun or at the Button. If the flop deals 3 of Hearts, 3 of Spades and 2 of Hearts and the player who is the first to speak places a bet, you should accord him a lot more credit than if a player raises at the button.

Say that the flop deals the Ace of Hearts, King of Spades and 2 of Diamonds, and that the player in the first position to speak places a bet. Because he bets at the flop in first to speak position, the flop can be fairly dangerous. If nothing happens up until the player situated at the button plays, and that the button makes a bet, there is a strong possibility that this player has nothing at all. If he does have something, he would not play in such a fashion with a strong hand (such as Ace-Ace, King-King or even Ace-King).

In the same way, you need to give a lot of credit to a player who calls each time. If the board is King of Spades, King of Diamonds, Queen of Spades, Queen of Diamonds and 2 of Hearts, and your opponent has checked all the way to the river, at which point he bets, you have very good reason to be afraid. If he calls a bet at the flop and the turn, but the bets at the river, then he has probable completed the hand that he was looking for.

Imagine the situation where you have a pair of Jacks and the board (Queen of Hearts, 7 of Heart, 7 of Spades, 2 of Diamonds, and 6 of Hearts) finally gives up the possibility of colours. If your opponent calls on the flop, and bets at the river, there is strong reason to fold your hand. The call at the flop is an important clue; it can signify that he got the Queen he was looking for, three-of-a-kind 7's or a colour draw. Now that colours is possible, all those hands will beat you, and you would be wrong to call.

Other factors give clues that indicate the strength of a hand:
When you see your opponent bet, take all the information that is in your possession in order to effectively evaluate the strength of their hand.

The most evident factor to take into consideration is to see how many players are invested in the pot. Other players will bluff less if they know that there are several players in the round.

For example, the board dealt is 8 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts and 6 of Spades; look at the two following types of bet:

-With six players in the pot, the player who is in a middle position to speak bets. He must surely have a good hand; he should at least have a top pair, or two pairs.
- You are head-to-head and you check, your opponent bets. Your opponent could have a variety of hands. He must be making a continuation bet with a good hand, such as Ace-King, or else he is in full bluff. In fact, it is improbable that your opponent will not bet in a head-to-head with a three-of-a-kind or a suit, he would have, normally, decided to check.

In a tournament situation, timing is a very important part of the game for giving you information of your opponent's hand. An opponent that goes All-In just before the bubble would be mad if he bet and did not have a strong hand.

-The check that changes everything:
The different stages of a hand will permit you to see what type of hand your opponent has, and if a bet is followed by a check, it is likely that something in their hand has changed.

Take the example of a board with 9 of Hearts, 7 of Hearts, 2 of Diamonds and King of Heart. Your opponent bets at the flop and checks when the King arrives. It seems that he managed to get something at the flop, but that he likes neither the King nor the 3 of Hearts. A pair in hand inferior to the King (for example, Queen-Queen, Jack-Jack, 10-10, 8-8, 6-6) is something that fits perfectly, and the same is true for Ace-9 or Ace-10. You can then take advantage of this fact that your opponent has revealed some uncertainty, and the bet the round.

When the action consist of a bet at the flop by your opponent, followed by a check at the turn once you have paid, can signify in a game of poker, that your have the green light. This is often a sign that your opponent is not sure of his hand, or that he has a weak hand. This check is an invitation to bet, you should then bet to the point that your opponent is forced out of the round.

How to Read Your Opponents Cards: Part 1 How to Read Your Opponents Cards: Part 2 How to Read Your Opponents Cards: Part 3

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