Poker: Understand Your Opponents.

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Observe other players:

Poker is a card game, but that's not the whole story; above all it is a struggle for power. When sitting down to play there will always be a variety of psychological profiles pertaining to the competitors around the table. Two main profiles are observable; ‘loose' players, who play large, and ‘tight' players who play few hands and a more precise game.

Player types:

Tight player profile; this player plays on average one out of ten hands. This type of player will only pay the flop if he needs to check the blinds, or if he possesses a superior hand (Ace-King, Ace-Queen, pairs above a pair of tens, occasionally King-Queen, but not less). He is very easy to spot as he only plays his cards and is quick on the blinds. Try to distance yourself from the pot the moment he enters a hand in the game, unless you have a very strong hand.

Aggressive player profile; he represents the profile of the experienced player, who is playing his competitors, rather than his hands. According to game play position and the psychology of fellow competitors, he will vary his game play, playing connectors (two cards which are in order), of the same colour or not, contrive steals of the blind, and profit from raises way above the blind, in order to impose his psychological force on the table. When he enters a round, it is because he is ready to raise in order to impose himself on his adversaries. He does not suffer at the hands of others and their psychological tactics; it is this player which sets the pace of the round. In short, this is a very good example to follow.

You have probably understood by now that these first types of game play are bad examples for proper comportment at the table- especially if you are playing live games (i.e. at the casino). In general, when you begin playing start off by playing a tight game, even if this means playing very few hands. An average of one hand for every six or seven thrown before the flop is reasonable (on a table of ten players), even if it seems like you are spending a lot of time outside of the excitement of play. But beware, poker does not take place only when you have entered a hand; on the contrary, the observations that you will be able to make when you are sat out for a few rounds are also very important. All professional poker players will confirm to you that when you are outside the game you are better positioned to observe your adversaries. What psychological profiles do players have? What tendencies do individual players have to raise? What sum do players put in, on average, when they are bluffing? When the round plays right do the end, do they have a tendency to reveal their cards? Do they receive deals in an aggressive or passive way? Are they on edge, irritated to have lost several hands to luck? If this is the case they will be psychologically weaker and will play more aggressively with marginal hands to try to make up the loss...

The Poker Face:

Knowing how to keep your comportment passive around the poker table is a theatrical performance: it is up to you to establish which roles are played by your adversaries. The Poker-Face is a reality, the professional player will not reveal any of his emotions, and he puts between you a wall of neutrality, or better thwarts your assumptions by inducing your errors. By instinct, for example, a player who is bluffing or who is not sure of his hand, will not look you in the eye. He will look more often towards the left or look down, cross his legs or move them nervously (some people have restless leg-syndrome and do this anyway, so check to see they do not do it the whole time!). In terms of your own behaviour, you should try to control and master these general indicators and try to present impassive glances during the round by focusing on a fixed point. Never change your comportment depending on your hand, do not act positively when you have a positive hand or vice-versa. In general, in the context of a casino, players are more accustomed to playing poker in a counter-current fashion; if they fix you with a hard stare, it is because they want to intimidate you and probably hold only a marginal hand; if they look at you fleetingly/nervously, it probably means that they have a better hand than you and are trying to lead you into wagering so they can win the pot, and hence your money. Do not hesitate to address yourself to your competitors who have just raised with some unnerving questions: ‘how much did you raise?', ‘how much money have you got left?', or even ‘shall I pay or not?'. If your adversary's voice sounds unsure, a little hoarse, he is probably bluffing and worried about being caught. However, everything depends on the level of your competitors poker skills, professionals are, in general, very difficult to interpret. Players can also be betrayed by their hands (their actual hands, not the cards they are holding); if they are trembling or sweaty, the player must be in an exceptional position, either a bluff or a very good hand. In long tournaments, players often listen to MP3 players, so that time does not go so slowly. Poker is a game of patience where during long periods of time you will not be directly involved in play. However, to distance yourself from your environment can prevent you from observing useful information; discussions between players, commentary on hands, etc. To begin with, and especially in cash games, stay alert and build yourself a psychological profile of each player. Do not hesitate to play practice rounds, in order to test the capacities of each player; a bluff, a half-bluff, a huge raise on a good hand, connectors, raises pre-flop, etc. See how each player reacts to these manoeuvres and also the types of hand they play. Never reveal your cards, except when it is obligatory. It is always better to let doubt proliferate among players after a huge raise that has not been followed, rather than to let them know you have been bluffing or had a winning hand, otherwise they may develop a better understanding of your psychological profile. To show your hand, it is to reveal your strategy of play. Sometimes, it is actually useful to reveal a bluff to an adversary who is already very irritated; you will put them even more on edge, they will subsequently play less reasonably, without paying attention to risk. But this strategy should only be used under exceptional circumstances, and with a precise goal in mind, other than just to merely brag about your psychological prowess.

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