Author: horse-racing-free-tips

This article is strictly referring to online poker games. It has nothing to do with reading the players. You can read here about some moments in the game when it is likely for others to bluff.

1. When they are still betting after a bad flop

Watch other player. Let’s say they already did bet pre-flop and their position was not that good. Now the flop is on the table and it is poor, so you have to think they could be bluffing. So raising the bet, or re-raising it might make them think about it, because they probably stand zero chances with the drawings and they might fold.

2. The odds are with them

For example, when everyone folds. And especially when the pot is quite big, like a drawing missed and maybe even you are thinking of bluffing. Then, you should naturally think that they could also be bluffing. So call or raise, whatever you want, just don’t throw away such a big pot.

3. When there’s only the two of you.

It’s considered the easiest bluff. They will think that if they got that far, they might as well get on with it. But don’t be fooled and if you have a good hand go on and play it.

4. When the flop has no more draws.

From time to time players will bet here to get rid of the capability to obtain a draw, now and again since they really have got good cards. They can bluff or not, you must know the ones you are playing with.

5. When they bet and then checked.

When a draw just occurred, and it was not satisfactory, they are almost certainly just trying to go on without having much. Bet alongside them.

6. When they bet firstly, then for the second time and finally on the river they checked.

It is the same situation just with two bets instead of one.

7. If when betting they are expressing their pity for your money

They are just trying to intimidate you. Nobody wants to win less at poker. If they really had a hand, they would have let you go along so they could win more.

To spot more bluffing situations, just analyze the ones that you are ready to bluff in. Keep in mind that if you are willing to do it, others might do also. At the same time, try and get to know each player’s style before trying to spot when they are bluffing. It is important to know your opponents and it will help you have more accurate prediction about the games you are playing.

Tells are one of the most important aspects of poker. They are a big part of the game and very important to get clues and hints about the cards that your opponents hold.

A good poker player knows that the amount of money that his opponent bets on has nothing to do with his cards and that in order to evaluate his opponents situation he must spot tells.

A good experienced player can gather lots of information from tells. Tells are signs that reveal information in many different ways, good players know how to spot them and how to use the information that they revealed for their own benefit.

Another important advantage of knowing how to pick up tells is the ability to avoid giving away your own tells. If you know how common players reveal information by tells you can try to look at yourself while playing and to notice what kind of tells you give and by that to learn how to monitor and avoid it.

There are many tells that experienced poker players can read. Tells are very idiosyncratic so in order to know exactly how to read a player’s tell you have to play with the specific player for a long time. In the long run you’ll realize that you’re familiar with your friend’s tells and that you can read them like an open book, but if you’re playing against new opponents in all sorts of poker rooms, here are some of the things that you should look for.

The first thing that you have to look at is the eyes. If you’ll watch professional poker tournaments you’ll notice that many poker pros are playing with sunglasses or visors. This is because the eyes can reveal lots of information about one’s cards.

Take a good look at your opponent’s eyes, learn how he reacts to different situations and you’ll now how to read his tells.

You can also learn a lot from the facial expression on your opponents’ face. You can tell if a player is nervous or eager if he has specific facial expressions or ‘tics’ and you can look for specific smiles or concern if the hands are good or bad.

Look for certain body gestures that can hint on a specific hand. Look for signs of anxiety or distress. There are stimulus responses that even the most experienced players cannot hide, so try to look for those physical changes and to study how the other players respond to different situations.

Try to look for eye pupil dilations, signs of dry throat, sweat, trembling hands and flexing of muscles and changes in the body gestures.

Other things that you have to look for are a repetitive glance at the player’s chips which might indicate a subconscious reaction to different situations at the poker table. Another thing is that you have to look for is the way the players stack their chips. If you notice a different pattern of stacking it might indicate that the player is under pressure or eager to make his move and win the hand.

There are many different tells that can indicate different reactions to situations at the poker table, but you must remember that you cannot count only on tells and you should use other poker strategies if you want to be a better player. Tells can provide valuable information, but serious players know that this is not enough for the game.

It’s completely obvious to you that one player has the nuts, for instance. And you watch, fascinated, as another player bets into the nut hand with NO outs. To compound the error, the player who is drawing dead now calls a raise on the river to lose even more money.

Before the winner is turned over, you mentally call the winning hand to yourself, and are not at all surprised when the two cards you expected to see are revealed.

Why are hands so easy to read when you’re NOT involved? Good question!

Why are they so hard to read when you have YOUR money in the pot? Another good question.

Poker is a game of mistakes. The player who makes the least misjudgments, misreads and downright DUMB plays is most likely to go home with the cash.

I’m going to give you an exercise that is quite advanced for a change. Every once in a while you should be given a chance to go to another level of play. If you are like most players (myself included), you won’t be able to complete this exercise for long. At best you’ll only be able to manage a few minutes of the exercise before failing.

Here is what I want you to do. One night next week, before you get out of the car in your cardroom parking lot and go in to play, I want you to stop for a few minutes and concentrate. I want you to visualize yourself as you sit behind the wheel. As you see yourself, pretend that you are a director in a movie where you are the star. The movie is about you. Now you are NOT the player, you are the director watching an actor playing you.

Are you still with me?

The person that is normally you, now is an actor playing you, ok?

For as long as you can maintain the exercise, watch yourself play poker from a camera angle just over your right shoulder. Within the picture frame, the camera can see all the players at the table and can zoom in on your hand when it is dealt to you.

Instead of you putting your money in the pot, you are watching an actor putting his chips in the pot. Now the camera follows everyone in turn around the table. From this detached point of view, suddenly everyone’s motives for acting are revealed. Including YOURS.

To your amazement, you will find yourself saying about the actor playing you. “Why did he do that? That was so STUPID! The guy in the three seat OBVIOUSLY has the best hand!”

Now as the director, you tell the actor that is playing you to throw the hand away. Of course, the actor does what he is told. The exercise is complete when the player in the three seat turns over EXACTLY the hand the detached, uninvolved you put him on.

You have now done what you couldn’t do before. You’ve played a hand as if you weren’t emotionally and financially involved. And you saved a lot of money.

Don’t expect to be able to maintain this exercise for long. It takes years of practice. But if you can do it even for a few hands a night, the difference in your play can be substantial. Poker will become a game of mistakes for the other players, not you.

If you would like more information regarding online poker rooms that Gambling Guru supports, you can read our Poker Reviews.