Hand Reading

Hand Reading can be difficult for some, but easier for others. It all depends on how well you know a player and how well you can interpret their betting patters. Good players will play hands like aces and 89 suited very similar. The reason is that it will disguise when you have a big hand, and if you do happen to hit a flop with an 89 the hand will be virtually unreadable. You should leave interpretation up to other players when playing a pot against an unfamiliar opponent. If you are playing someone who you have never sat down with before it is harder to read what they are doing simply because you don’t know how they play hands. If you can gain some information and pay attention to hands that they do showdown then you can pick up their betting patterns better. If you see that they aren’t winning any hands at the showdown because they are making bluffs and they aren’t panning out then you should keep in your memory their raise before the flop and bet on the flop.

Other times hand reading will get easy because when you become more familiar with the table you’re at then you can see if they do have a draw on the flop, or if they have a set. Things will become more prevalent as time goes on and the longer a session goes. The longer a session goes the more information you gain from them. On average if you know a player you should be able to guess a good range of hands that they have 80% of the time. You should keep track of if they are capable of making a big bluff on a hand or not because you never know down the line. At the tail end of a session reading a player’s hand should become easier, but sometimes it gets more difficult because they could be either winning or losing on the day. Most players who have lost on the day will try to get back to even by making a lot of bluffs on hands that they shouldn’t be in. Also, players who are stuck will most of the time become more stuck and almost force themselves to be stuck. They will start gambling more and make it obvious that they are willing to gamble. Players who are winning on the day a lot of the time will not take a big risk, and should be easier to read. A lot of the time people are up a good deal of poker bonus money they will become a lock box with their chips, and almost only play the nuts or big hands. You have to be aware of these types of players and read their hands correctly or you could get suckered in to losing a big hand. When you feel you are able to read hands effectively you should change your game as well because these players are looking through your betting patterns as well. When you adjust to games and situations reading hands becomes simple, and you will start winning.