Poker Poker Elements

Of course, there are more than just the above-mentioned types of tell. This article is just an introduction. But as long as you pay attention to summary when playing cards, and diligently think about the reasons why your opponent does this, you will be able to see through your opponents more and more, and you will keep yourself at the minimum level of tell leakage. It’s impossible to be completely free of flaws. We are all mortals, right? But precisely because of this impossibility, we have the reason to always work hard.

 

To summarize, this article introduces the definition of tells, explains why tells are present in poker, introduces common tells and how to take advantage of your opponent's tells. In the next issue, I will introduce to you the seventh element of Texas Hold'em poker: Pattern.

 

Elements of Texas Hold'em Poker No. 7: Patterns

 

This article explains some common betting patterns and what you should do about them.

 

In a 2-5 cash game, you just entered the game with $500. A tight player in front raised to $20 and folded all the way. You called with 8h7h on the button, and the big blind also called. The pot is $60, the flop is Td7d3s, the big blind checks, the tight hand bets 45, you flat call, and the big blind folds. The pot is $150, the turn is 2c, the tight hand checks, and you check too. The river card is a 9c, and the tight hand checks again. What should you do?

 

In actual game, many people tend to choose to check, because they only have the third pair and their hand strength is medium, and they are unwilling to risk betting and provide opportunities for the opponent to check and raise. But let's look at our opponent's betting pattern: he raises preflop, then bet-check-check. In most cases, this pattern is unpaired big cards such as AK/AQ/AJs/KQs. If he has pocket pairs, the only ones that fit this pattern and can beat you are 8-8, and there are only 3 possible combinations. There are at least more than 40 combinations of unpaired big cards. Although your hand is only the third pair, it is in the lead in most cases. If your opponent does not fold too many cards, you can make a small bet and maybe squeeze out a little more value from AK/AQ. If your opponent is suspicious, If you like to catch your opponent bluffing, you can also place a large bet to pretend to be an unfinished flush draw, luring your opponent to make a Hero call.

 

Betting patterns and tells are two major sources of data for people-reading skills at the poker table. The shorter the stack, the less obvious the betting patterns are, and the more you have to rely on tells; however, once the stacks are deep to a certain extent, understanding and reading of betting patterns should become the mainstream, and tells will be weakened into supplementary factors, especially when the opponent is more advanced. When you are high and can't see any leaks, pattern becomes the only factor in reading people. Let’s take a look at the common betting patterns in four situations: preflop, flop, turn, and river.

 

There are three main pre-flop patterns. One is the frequency of entering the pot. This data shows the tightness of a player; the second is the ratio of his raises and flat calls. This data shows the maniac of a player; Three is the size of his bet, which can indicate whether a player is "crazy" or not. When playing cards online, the tracking software will give you a very accurate summary of the first two data. You usually play multiple tables online, and it is impossible to carefully observe a person's long-term trend. At this time, I believe the statistics of the software will save you a lot. strength. When playing cards live, you have to observe carefully for yourself. However, it is neither necessary nor possible for the human brain to memorize all the card games like software. For example, you see a guy flat-calling under the gun, then calling a late-position raise, and finally showing 8-5o on the bottom of the river. This hand alone puts this guy in the loose category. He's playing 8-5o under the gun, so he's unlikely to throw away 8-6s in the middle.

 

The third preflop statistic, "bet size," will give players more insight. There are many people, especially in the mid- to low-limit, and their pre-flop bet size is basically proportional to their card strength.

 

For example, in 2-5, they have AT and raise to 15, and they raise with AQ or TT. To 20, if it is increased to 25, it must be AK or JJ or above. If it exceeds 25, it is basically AA/KK. They rarely raise when they get a suited connector. This kind of play has serious loopholes. It is better when the chips are shallow. When the chips are deep, it is a big no-no to allow observant opponents to read your range too accurately.

 

In addition, some people raise the same amount no matter what hand they decide to play, and the amount is equal to AA and 7-6s. Although this style of play will not reveal your own card strength, it often fails to achieve the goal. For example, four people have already called flatly, and you hold AA on the button and only raise to 4 times the big blind. People who sneak in will basically call again. With so many people entering the game, your AA often needs to hit a set.

 

Only then can he win, which wastes the advantage of AA as a big pair. The bet size I personally recommend is based on who limps in first. If no one comes in front, the standard raise size is 3-4 times the big blind, plus one big blind for each person who limps in. In addition, make slight adjustments based on the sensitivity of the main opponent on the table. For example, if your opponent is not good at observing, you can place a larger bet with strong cards and a slightly smaller bet with weak cards; but if your opponent is a powerful character, you'd better bet strictly. A way to add money without leaking information.

 

On the flop, the most important betting pattern is one's c-bet frequnce. If some people are the last raiser before the flop (Pre-flop aggressor), they will almost certainly bet after the flop comes out; while some people will almost certainly bet when the flop comes out with top pair or above, or a flush or a straight.

 

Only those who know how to bet will check when facing three small cards with AK; some people will only bet if they have a made hand, and they will check and call if they have a flush or a straight. When playing live, you must quickly distinguish between these three types of people.

 

My personal favorite continuation bet rate is around 50% to 70%, depending on the number and type of opponents. When there are made hands and draws, you tend to bet, but occasionally check, especially in the following situations: 1. You are very likely to be in the lead and there are no draws on the board, 2. Heads up or your opponent There are fewer people, 3. The pot is smaller. Tend to check when completely missing the flop, but bet occasionally, especially in the following situations: 1. Opponent has a high fold rate to continuation bets, 2. My range looks to my opponent to be calling the flop The cards match up well, 3. Although your opponent is likely to call, he is very likely to fold on the turn.

 

On the turn, does your opponent bet two streets in a row on top pair, top kicker, over pair, or semi-bluff two streets in a row when there is a draw? These are important factors in measuring his betting pattern. When there is a pair of made hands, many people will still bet on the turn, but the bet size is often smaller because they are afraid of two pairs and do not want to miss out on value; when there is a draw, many people tend to bet on the flop Bet. On the turn, you will only bet if the turn card hit. If it is not hit, you will check to try to get a free river card.

 

After the river card comes out, it's settled, and you are 100% ahead or behind. The biggest question to determine is, if the opponent bets, is he making a value bet, or is he bluffing? It seems weird to say, but in low- and mid-limit games, some people never bluff. If he misses a draw on the river, he will give up.

 

You must identify such a person, because if he continues to show off his power on the river, you can safely throw away the second pair or worse. Another type of people to identify is that the size of their river bets also reflects their hand strength.

 

Some people always make smaller bets when bluffing and value bets are larger; others are just the opposite and bluff. Make big bluff bets and smaller value bets. This trend is easy to observe within an hour or two. Once you master the opponent's river betting pattern, the benefits are often decisive, because the pot is the largest on the river card.

 

If you can only look at an opponent's play on one particular hand, I suggest looking at his top pair top kicker hands. This is not only because top-pair top-kicker is the most common hand played by the average opponent, but also because the wrong top-pair-top-kicker play can be very easy to exploit.