Paradise Poker UK

Sizing Up Your Poker Opponents

Poker game selection, or the ability to select the right poker game for yourself in terms of skill, playing style and the quality of opponents, is very important if you want to succeed as a poker player. If you can discover your opponents' weaknesses, you can use them to your utmost advantage.

At first glance, sizing up your opponents in poker may be a difficult task, but it's easier if you realize that poker players can be divided into three classes: those who bet too much, call too much or fold too much. The key is to find out which class your opponents belong.

For example, most people think that poker players who play very few hands and are extremely tight players (also called "rocks") cannot be beaten. This is not absolutely true because rocks fold far too many hands and give up a +EV (expected value) for a decrease in variance. You can take advantage of this situation by developing aggressive, solid blind-stealing skills.

Many people also believe that "maniacs" or extremely loose poker players are invincible. But maniacs play far too many hands to play their hands correctly. When you're in a poker game where four or more players are capping the bet after the flop, just wait for the premium hands and bet with them. Don't play with marginal hands or else you will be forced to fold and give up the preflop bets when the flop doesn't hit you. Maniacs usually don't have good cards so don't be afraid to bet when you get a good hand.

What about a poker game full of "calling stations" or players who call often but never raise? You will soon learn that this poker game is actually the easiest game to play and should be an ideal game for you if you have the liberty to select your games. Avoid bluffing when these players are calling you often, and bet only for value. Play marginal hands from a late position so you can control the betting and get more money from the pot. Don't try too many angles or moves so you can get a strong hand at the showdown. When you hit, be sure to make them pay dearly but don't slowplay too often.

Tight and aggressive poker players are a class of their own. You have no other choice but to avoid these kinds of players. You can still slug it out with these players but your variance will be huge and the risks will be high.

To sum it up, no poker player is perfect just as no human being is perfect. All poker players have weaknesses and make mistakes. You need to figure out the quality of play and the playing styles of your opponents so that you can make correct adjustments to your poker play. Once you can do that, rest assured you will become one of the best poker players at the table.