Archive for the ‘Hand Reading’ Category

Other Ways to Improve Your Poker Game

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

What will not improve your poker game is holding on to that arrogant attitude and trust in luck.  Nor will you gain anything at the table by sticking to the small set of rules you learned from a book and never venture beyond them for fear of your safety.  First, you must realize that no matter how many hands you win, there is still room for improvement..  Poker is not just a game of luck, skill or mindreading, a good player has learned the art of introspection.  You must be very candid with yourself and define your strength and weaknesses as accurately as possible.

There are also talented players out there who do not project arrogance and do not play by a few rules they learned either from the literature or at the table.  Their roadblock to improvement is to rest on their laurels and never grow.  No inspiration here, these lazy players rely on rare strokes of brilliance to win a couple of hands..

Hardly anyone excels in every aspect of a complicated process, but to depend on just a few skills is perilous and likely to bring you down over time.  Your weaknesses must be acknowledged and tended to.  You are not alone at the table and not the only player with insight.  Your opponents will discover that you do a few things well and often, and can bypass your play with maneuvers of their own.  In the end, they will consistently apply these tactics, and take you by surprise.  Why?  Because they have taken the time and effort to improve all their poker skills and have the confidence to make a number of creative moves.

Just as there are no one-handed boxers, you have to sharpen all your skills, even the weak ones.  And you can’t make progress on improving your weak points if you do not recognize them.  This is a difficult task, but you will not improve without tackling it.

The difficulty of this task likes in two basic concepts, you must understand that the game isn’t really worth playing unless your goal is to win, and you must take on the burden of forming a disciplined habit of consistently doing that which you do not want to do.  This won’t work if you don’t understand why you are learning to form this habit.  You must engage yourself in the game and blindly following a routine that is incomprehensible to you will not lead to engagement or success.

A good golfer will have visions of where he wants the ball to go and the ideal way to put it there.  A good poker player must do the same: envision himself as more than a competent player of the game, feel the rush of excitement that leads to triumphant results, and come to the decision that this is a good thing.  If your imagination is too stifled to experience this feeling, you need to admit to yourself that you really don’t get it and explore other opportunities that will successfully engage you.  If this vision, however, stirs your passion, work on improving all your skills and the results will amaze you.  As an added bonus, achieving the discipline it takes to consistently do things that do not appeal to you and you may even fear, is in itself rewarding.

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Reading Online Poker Tells

Monday, October 19th, 2009

“A tell” or “tells” are body language which has the potential to reveal information concerning the opponent’s hand. Keeping a good eye open for it is a fun challenge and something you should learn to do. It may decide the outcome of the game like nothing else and it keeps you from fidgeting. When your opponent vigorously tosses their chips during a live game, or fidgets with their chips, licks their dry lips, glances aside, or scratches behind the ear you may earn cash with systematic observation which may lead to valuable insight. Such a technique to the uninitiated may seem like black magic, but it is heavily replied upon by many professionals.

Things look different, however, online, to say the least. In fact you don’t seem to see anything at first glance. An image or photograph (not necessarily the actual player), from animated portraits to brains in vats, or perhaps just a blank is all there is to represent the players. Is it possible then to “read” online?

You must realize that online your own hand is likewise readable, even if your online image is Homer Simpson with a hand of pink glazed donuts. The speed with which a player makes his bets is the primary tell online. Clicking the appropriate box to raise, call, or pass when it’s a player’s turn is the most basic available way to bet. The box can also be marked beforehand (bet/raise, etc.) so that the move is made instantly and automatically when it is your turn.

Possible signs of a weak hand may be “pondering”: when a payer takes a long time to “think” and then says “check”, they are probably trying to convince you that their cards are good when they are not. It’s as if investigating a significant sum was considered. Actually, so they can have the next card for free they hope that you too will check. A person will normally say check after a natural pause and then make a raise equal to the last bet when they actually intend to check/raise. Strength is implied when a bet is made after prolonged pondering. The player suggests weakness by “wavering for a bit while making an aggressive bet which entices you to “call”.

Those likely to have a strong hand are those who immediately make bets or raises. Weakness may be suggested by deliberate aggressiveness but in many cases the situation is reversed. The player hopes to bully you  into believing that he would have never raised so rashly if he had worthwhile cards. “Reverse psychology” is the trick, a show to intimidate you into an unnecessary call.

Playing what is probably a very strong hand with deceptive gradualness, some players use the “check/raise” button. It entices you to make an aggressive move when what seems like a hurried check if followed by a raise. The opponent’s hand is probably much stronger that you thought it was, the check was likely a trap, so beware!

To give you an idea of how to observe the mannerism and habits of invisible online opponents, these are mere tips. Observe players carefully, especially those you have been playing with long-term as they probably display more individual tells. Responding at a persistently equal time with timed responses may be done deliberately by some players to make it impossible to guess their hands. Learning to do the same may be a good idea for you.

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Reading Hands Online

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

When information concerning an opponent’s hand is revealed by body language this is called “a tell” or “tells”. It is something you should learn to keep an eye out for, it’s a challenge and keeps you from fidgeting as well. It also may decide the outcome of game to your favor like nothing else. Systematic observation may yield invaluable insight and earn you cash. Watch for your opponent tossing their chips vigorously in the bank, licking their dry lips, glancing aside, or scratching behind the ear during a live game. To the uninitiated it may seem more like black magic than technique but many professionals rely heavily upon it.

Things look differently online however. At first glance all that represents a player may be a blank, a photograph (not necessarily of the player) or an image of anything else. So is “reading” even possible online?

Primarily the speed in which a player makes his bets are the “tells” online. The first thing you have to remember is that your hand can be read online as  well, even if it’s Homer Simpson with a hand of pink glazed donuts that you have uploaded as the image of yourself. To bet , raise, call, or pass you click the appropriate button when it’s a player’s turn in an online game. When it’s your turn the move can be made instantly and automatically by marking the box beforehand.

Online when a player takes a long time to “think” and then says check they are probably trying to convince you that they have good cards. A weak hand may be suspected by “pondering”. It’s as if investing a significant sum was considered. So they can have the next card for free they are actually in hopes that you will check as well. Normally a person will say check after a natural pause if he really intends to “check/raise”, and then make a raise equal to the last bet. Strength may be implied after prolonged pondering of a bet. A player suggests weakness by “wavering” while making an aggressive bet, enticing you to call.

Players are likely to have a strong hand when they make immediate bets or raises. Weakness can be detected by deliberate aggressiveness, but in many cases the situation is the reverse. A player may raise “rashly” in hopes that you will be bullied into thinking he really has worthwhile cards. It’ a show usually meant to intimidate you into an unnecessary call, a trick called “reverse psychology”.

With deceptive gradualness, some players use the “check/raise” button to play what is probably a very strong hand. While you are enticed to make an aggressive move when what seems like a hurried check is followed by a raise. Beware, the opponent’s hand was probably much stronger than you thought it was and the check was more than likely a trap!

These mere tips may give you some idea of how to observe your online opponent’s habits and mannerisms. Take the time to observe players carefully, they probably betray other more individualized tells, especially those with whom you have been playing for a while. Some players may also try to make it impossible to guess their hands by deliberately timing their response or by persistently taking equal time to respond in all cases. For you to learn to do the same may be a good idea.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

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Posted in Hand Reading, Online Poker, Tells | No Comments »

Online Poker Tells

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

Body language which has the potential to reveal information concerning the opponent’s hand is called “a tell” or “tells” – and you had better learn to keep a good eye open for it: it’s a fun challenge; it keeps you from fidgeting, and it may decide the outcome of the game in your favor like nothing else. In a live game, when your opponent vigorously tosses their chips into the bank, fidgets with their chips, licks their dry lips, glances aside or scratches behind the ear systematic observation may yield invaluable insight and earn you cash. To the uninitiated such technique may seem like black magic, but in fact many professionals rely heavily on it.

Online, however, things look differently, to say the least. In fact, at first glance, you don’t seem to see anything. A photograph (not necessarily of the actual player) or an image of anything else – from anime portraits to brains in vats – or a blank is all that represents the players. Is “reading” then impossible online?

The first thing to realize is that your own hand is likewise readable online, even if it’s Homer Simpson with a hand of pink glazed doughnuts that you have uploaded as the online image of yourself. Online tells are primarily the speed with which a player makes his bets. The most basic available way to bet, raise, call, or pass in an online game is by clicking the appropriate button when it is the player’s turn. The other possibility is to mark the box of the action beforehand (bet/raise, etc), so that when it is your turn, the move is made instantly and automatically.

Online “pondering” may mean a weak hand: when a player takes a long time to “think” and then says “check”, they are probably trying to convince you they have good cards when they don’t in reality. It’s as if they were considering investing a significant sum. Actually, they hope you will check as well, so they can have the next card for free. When a person really intends a “check/raise”, they will normally say check after a natural pause and then make a raise equal to the last bet. A bet after prolonged pondering implies strength: making an aggressive bet, the player suggests weakness by “wavering” for a while, enticing you to “call.”

Many of those who make immediate bets or raises are likely to have a strong hand. Deliberate aggressiveness may suggest weakness, but in many cases the situation is the reverse: the player hopes that you will be bullied into believing that he would never have raised so “rashly” if he really had worthwhile cards. It’s a trick of “reverse psychology,” a show usually meant to intimidate you into an unnecessary call.

Some players use the “check/raise” button to play what is probably a very strong hand with deceptive gradualness. When what seems like a hurried check, enticing you to make an aggressive move, is followed by a raise, beware: the check was likely a trap and the opponent’s hand is probably much stronger than you thought it was!

These are mere tips which may give you some idea how to observe the habits and mannerism of invisible online opponents. Take the time to observe players carefully, especially those with whom you have been playing for a while: they probably betray other, more individualized tells. Be aware that some players may deliberately time their responses randomly or persistently take equal time to respond in all cases, making it impossible to guess their hands. It could be a good idea to learn to do the same.

Visit Rakeback Solution for the best Rakeback rates and Rakeback Promotions.

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Posted in Gambling, Hand Reading, Online Poker, Tells | No Comments »