This article first appeared in the Jul/Aug 2010 issue of World Gaming magazine.
Poker is a strategic game that is played against different personalities. Understanding the human factor is one of the most important parts of becoming a better poker player.
First of all, the skill levels of different players vary. This may not be something that you pick up immediately so you should always play a few rounds around the table to observe you opponents and gauge their ability. You can also learn new tricks from good players. Try watching how they play and their conduct on the table and you can build those skills into your own game. Alternatively you can observe the mistakes that bad players make. Maybe you are making the same mistakes and by seeing someone else make them you can avoid them in the future.
As you spend more time practicing these skills you will be able to identify players’ strengths and weaknesses. Once you identify their weaknesses you can vary your game to take advantage of the situation. The simplest example of this is when you notice that a player is playing very tightly. Most of the time, this is a perfect time for you to loosen up and exploit his weakness. If a player is playing very aggressively you can tighten up your game and wait for the perfect spot to trap them.
Here is a hand that I played at the PokerStars room at the Grand Lisboa in a HK$20/HK$40 no limit holdem cash game.
Some players at the table were playing very aggressively whereas others were playing very tightly. In my favour was the fact that they never changed their style. They were monotonous and mechanical in their approach to the game. I was on the button – the best position on the table. In this particular hand, the player directly on my right was the first to raise and made it HK$200 to go. I had been watching this player all night and he usually had AK when he raised five times the big blind. Because of my good position and my understanding of his play I called with a starting hand of 97.
Both blinds folded pre-flop so we went to the flop heads up. The flop was: J87. My opponent came out and bet HK$350. Because I was sure he had AK, I didn’t hesitate to raise to HK$1,000. Although I only had a small pair, this didn’t matter. I had made my decision, as long as an A or K didn’t hit on the flop, I was going to play the hand this way. I knew that even though I only had a small pair and an inside straight draw I was in a favourable position.
My opponent looked at his cards and said, “why is AK so hard to play!” and he angrily mucked his cards.
I won this hand because of my observation and my understanding of my opponent. I then used that knowledge when the right opportunity arose. The art of observation is one of the most important poker lessons you can learn
