So, I know I said I'd post a few more tells, and I will, but in... a paragraph or so.
I decided to go to a casino I used to play at when I first started out with poker, a few days ago. The reason I stopped going there was the table atmosphere - people are really stuck up and not fun to talk to. Anyhow, what I had FORGOTTEN about said players is that they're pretty much all donkeys. I made $350 in 3 hands in 45 minutes at a 2/5NL HE table. I thought about the hands afterwards and realized that these people called my all-in bets, or my large, pot sized bets, with absolutely nothing other than a draw (if that). Anyhow, I'm going to go back there soon, easy money is easy.
Anyhow, here's another tell that'll help you out; watch the player's carotid artery (for those of you that don't know where that is, check out this wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_carotid_artery ) Anyhow, when a player is excited about something, or nervous about something, more blood pumps through their veins, and at a faster rate. When the artery is throbbing heavily, and noticeably, chances are the player is bluffing. When a player's artery is fairly unnoticeable or pumping slowly, they most likely have a hand. This has come in handy at least once every three hands for me, it's a guaranteed stack-saver.
More to come soon, I've got my hands full with a cat my girlfriend and I are fostering for about a week or so. She's really sweet, but loves attention (and needs lots of it!)
Nick
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Basic Tells
Okay, so I've decided to give away a few of the tells I've discovered frequently pop up at the tables. Some of these are pretty obvious, and most of you may know them already, but for those of you that don't... well here they are. In order to get a good read on someone, many people believe that you first have to see said player show their hand at a showdown; this isn't always the case. Having them show their holdings is a good way to be SURE of a tell you may have discovered, but often times your gut instinct is right - go with it. If someone looks weak, they probably are... that being said if they look REALLY weak, they're probably putting on an act and are in fact really strong. The same can be said for the opposite - if they're acting strong, tough, and talking a lot, chances are they're bluffing (which is a characteristic of a donkey, mentioned in my 1st and 2nd posts). Anyhow, here's a short/basic list of tells that work well when you're first starting out.
1. Watch a player look at their cards. Often times, when they're rather happy or excited about a potentially big hand (AA, KK, AK, AQ, etc.) they, subconsciously, lift their left hand and touch the left side of their head (their neck, the back or their head, etc.) This can be a scratching motion, pushing their hair back, whatever.
2. If you're unsure of your whether an opponent has you beat or not, ask them if they'll show you their cards if you fold to them. If they instantly respond "yes", chances are they're on a bluff. If they say no, they usually have a good hand. If they don't respond, chances are, again, that they're bluffing. This can be tricky with more experienced players, as many of them will either try to disguise their hand by getting into a discussion, or by not speaking - either of which can mean any number of things about their hands. Use this one at your own discretion.
3. Watch your opponents when the flop, turn, and river come down. If they lean in, ever so slightly, chances are they flopped, turned, or rivered some sort of draw. When a player is looking for another card to come down, they're drawing. Getting them off their hands can be tricky, because many players seem to like chasing their draws nowadays, but it can be done with the correct level of aggression.
Okay, I went on for a bit longer than I had expected to, so I'll continue this post next time. More tells/tips to come!
Nick
1. Watch a player look at their cards. Often times, when they're rather happy or excited about a potentially big hand (AA, KK, AK, AQ, etc.) they, subconsciously, lift their left hand and touch the left side of their head (their neck, the back or their head, etc.) This can be a scratching motion, pushing their hair back, whatever.
2. If you're unsure of your whether an opponent has you beat or not, ask them if they'll show you their cards if you fold to them. If they instantly respond "yes", chances are they're on a bluff. If they say no, they usually have a good hand. If they don't respond, chances are, again, that they're bluffing. This can be tricky with more experienced players, as many of them will either try to disguise their hand by getting into a discussion, or by not speaking - either of which can mean any number of things about their hands. Use this one at your own discretion.
3. Watch your opponents when the flop, turn, and river come down. If they lean in, ever so slightly, chances are they flopped, turned, or rivered some sort of draw. When a player is looking for another card to come down, they're drawing. Getting them off their hands can be tricky, because many players seem to like chasing their draws nowadays, but it can be done with the correct level of aggression.
Okay, I went on for a bit longer than I had expected to, so I'll continue this post next time. More tells/tips to come!
Nick
Monday, March 22, 2010
Combating Various Playing Styles
Okay, so a few days later here's my second post.
Here are a few ways to combat the playing styles mentioned in my last post. They're fairly broad, but tailoring them to your own purposes will help your chip stack grow, as opposed to dwindle.
1. Combating Tight Players - Essentially, what you need to do to combat a tight player is play more loosely than you normally do. Chances are, if you've identified a player as tight, and they've raised preflop, they have a big hand. If there's no paint on the flop, and the player has checked, throw out a 3/4 pot sized feeler bet. If the player calls, they may have hit a piece of the flop (possibly top pair with top kicker, if there's a 8 or 10 on the board). At this point you might decide that they're trying to slow play a big pocket pair, or they're just calling in hopes of hitting their A or K. Your next move is up to you, but depending on their body language, and your previous study of the player, betting again on the turn will most likely get them off their hand (unless the turn is an A, K, Q or J). Use discretion, but playing more loosely against players like this, and being more aggressive, will usually do the trick.
2. Combating Loose Players - Biggest tip I can give you for combating a loose player is to not let them see flops. I, personally, LOVE to see flops, and those that let me usually get into a lot of trouble when I do. If you have a good hand, bet it. If you have garbage, fold. Loose players will call small bets to see the turn and river, so playing aggressively is a must if you want to get them off their hands.
3. Donkeys - In my last post, I mentioned that figuring out if a player is a donkey is the first step to felting them; and my combative method (including calling with bottom pair if their story doesn't add up from preflop to river) should be utilized against players like these.
4. By-the-book Players - The best way to beat these types of players is to figure out their formula. Even if you haven't read any of the books, chances are you'll be able to figure out how they play after seeing them in action a few times. Messing with their formula is the best way to get them off a hand; if you think you know they're going to bet the pot to try and get you off your hand, ship your stack, they'll probably fold. If you think you know they're going to check behind you to see another card for free, don't let them. Figure out their formula, whether it be textbook Super System, or anything else, and mess with their heads.
Try to see if you can utilize some of methods and link them with the various player types I mentioned in Post 1. Good luck at the tables!
Nick
Here are a few ways to combat the playing styles mentioned in my last post. They're fairly broad, but tailoring them to your own purposes will help your chip stack grow, as opposed to dwindle.
1. Combating Tight Players - Essentially, what you need to do to combat a tight player is play more loosely than you normally do. Chances are, if you've identified a player as tight, and they've raised preflop, they have a big hand. If there's no paint on the flop, and the player has checked, throw out a 3/4 pot sized feeler bet. If the player calls, they may have hit a piece of the flop (possibly top pair with top kicker, if there's a 8 or 10 on the board). At this point you might decide that they're trying to slow play a big pocket pair, or they're just calling in hopes of hitting their A or K. Your next move is up to you, but depending on their body language, and your previous study of the player, betting again on the turn will most likely get them off their hand (unless the turn is an A, K, Q or J). Use discretion, but playing more loosely against players like this, and being more aggressive, will usually do the trick.
2. Combating Loose Players - Biggest tip I can give you for combating a loose player is to not let them see flops. I, personally, LOVE to see flops, and those that let me usually get into a lot of trouble when I do. If you have a good hand, bet it. If you have garbage, fold. Loose players will call small bets to see the turn and river, so playing aggressively is a must if you want to get them off their hands.
3. Donkeys - In my last post, I mentioned that figuring out if a player is a donkey is the first step to felting them; and my combative method (including calling with bottom pair if their story doesn't add up from preflop to river) should be utilized against players like these.
4. By-the-book Players - The best way to beat these types of players is to figure out their formula. Even if you haven't read any of the books, chances are you'll be able to figure out how they play after seeing them in action a few times. Messing with their formula is the best way to get them off a hand; if you think you know they're going to bet the pot to try and get you off your hand, ship your stack, they'll probably fold. If you think you know they're going to check behind you to see another card for free, don't let them. Figure out their formula, whether it be textbook Super System, or anything else, and mess with their heads.
Try to see if you can utilize some of methods and link them with the various player types I mentioned in Post 1. Good luck at the tables!
Nick
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Player Types
Okay, so after a brief introduction, I'm going to be discussing various types of players I've come across at the tables (mainly live, but I'll talk a little bit about online players as well). So basically, I've been playing poker professionally for about 3 years now. I'm completely self taught, I've seen a lot of weird hands, interesting players, playing styles, tells, etc. I've been up, down, played for hours without seeing a single cent of profit, played for 10 minutes and quadrupled up, and I've had a helluva lot of fun doing it.
So now I'm going to list the 4 main types of players out there. (this goes for both online and live, though there are differences, but I'll get into that later) 9/10 players will fit into one of these categories so hopefully this will make spotting a particular player's style easier for you. Here goes:
1. Tight Players - The Phil Hellmuth's of the world, ya know, the ones that like to wait 'till they have AK or a big pocket pair to raise preflop? These types generally don't tend to make continuation bets unless they hit the flop, and are less likely to call big bets/reraises unless they have premium holdings (top pair/top kicker, top 2 pair, a set, etc.)
2. Loose Players - These players typically like to see a lot of cheap flops, but are also willing pay off small to medium sized bets with weak hands to chase draws. These players tend to have a vary broad range of hands they play, and need to be studied for a few hands before you can get the hang of just how they play.
3. Donkeys - People that like to throw money at the pot (usually with no holdings) and hope to scare people off their marginal hands. These players also like to chase weak draws, usually tend to be very talkative at the tables, and (chances are) they tend to have some form of alcohol in their hands at all times. I find that 75% of online players fit into this category - I don't know if they're drunk or what, but if they were I wouldn't be surprised. If you've identified a player as a donkey, and their story doesn't add up, chances are they're bluffing. Calling with a pair or two usually works out in your favour, even if there are straight and flush draws on the board. (Use discretion, I'm not saying call every bet with bottom pair, but if you feel like they're bluffing, they probably are)
4. By-The-Book Players - These are the guys (or ladies) that tend to follow books like "Super System" to the letter. Players like this are VERY easy to put on hands, which makes it easier to know when to muck your cards, or when to shove. There's actually a particular player I know that likes to raise 8 or 9 times the big blind (or any other preflop raise) if he has a pocket pair, no matter how big - he counts as one of these players. If you haven't read all the poker books out there, it's a little harder to spot these players, but look for very formulaic plays. If seat 3 does something the same way on every hand he plays (1 out of evert 9 or 10 hands), chances are seat 3 is a by-the-book player.
Next post I'll discuss how to combat these various styles, but for now, when you're at the tables, try to spot these players and figure out how they play. Goodluck at the tables 'till then!
Nick
So now I'm going to list the 4 main types of players out there. (this goes for both online and live, though there are differences, but I'll get into that later) 9/10 players will fit into one of these categories so hopefully this will make spotting a particular player's style easier for you. Here goes:
1. Tight Players - The Phil Hellmuth's of the world, ya know, the ones that like to wait 'till they have AK or a big pocket pair to raise preflop? These types generally don't tend to make continuation bets unless they hit the flop, and are less likely to call big bets/reraises unless they have premium holdings (top pair/top kicker, top 2 pair, a set, etc.)
2. Loose Players - These players typically like to see a lot of cheap flops, but are also willing pay off small to medium sized bets with weak hands to chase draws. These players tend to have a vary broad range of hands they play, and need to be studied for a few hands before you can get the hang of just how they play.
3. Donkeys - People that like to throw money at the pot (usually with no holdings) and hope to scare people off their marginal hands. These players also like to chase weak draws, usually tend to be very talkative at the tables, and (chances are) they tend to have some form of alcohol in their hands at all times. I find that 75% of online players fit into this category - I don't know if they're drunk or what, but if they were I wouldn't be surprised. If you've identified a player as a donkey, and their story doesn't add up, chances are they're bluffing. Calling with a pair or two usually works out in your favour, even if there are straight and flush draws on the board. (Use discretion, I'm not saying call every bet with bottom pair, but if you feel like they're bluffing, they probably are)
4. By-The-Book Players - These are the guys (or ladies) that tend to follow books like "Super System" to the letter. Players like this are VERY easy to put on hands, which makes it easier to know when to muck your cards, or when to shove. There's actually a particular player I know that likes to raise 8 or 9 times the big blind (or any other preflop raise) if he has a pocket pair, no matter how big - he counts as one of these players. If you haven't read all the poker books out there, it's a little harder to spot these players, but look for very formulaic plays. If seat 3 does something the same way on every hand he plays (1 out of evert 9 or 10 hands), chances are seat 3 is a by-the-book player.
Next post I'll discuss how to combat these various styles, but for now, when you're at the tables, try to spot these players and figure out how they play. Goodluck at the tables 'till then!
Nick
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