POKER BLOG 4-3-2006

This obviously would be categorized as overdue.  But the frequency of entries will come down since I decided that I won’t necessarily write up every poker outing.  First reason, there’s just too much. In addition, I have been informed that my write ups are a bit too in depth, giving a lot of information about how my poker mind works. There’s a lot of valuable information out there for my opponents. So now I’ll be doing cursory overviews. There will still be some details for entertainment purposes, after I decide that it’s relatively well known information anyway (whether through general poker knowledge or is part of the general scouting report(s) that are out there on me anyway).

So this might be a good spot to share some of those scouting reports. I have heard things besides the the ones mentioned, but these are poker players and you can’t necessarily believe everything they tell you.

One of the early, and many times repeated, comments is that “you’re impossible to read.” That term, if not understood, means that they find it hard to figure out what cards I have.  An element to successful poker is figuring out what the other player has.  There are multiple pieces of information one can use in that quest.

The most important, in my opinion, is betting patterns. What they bet, when they bet it, etc. Especially when a player becomes experienced and/or does some book learning. After getting acquainted with the math and then tactics, there are “recommended” ways to play certain hands in certain situations. When you recognize these moves as they’re being executed, you know what they have. Then you do your math to figure out whether it’s worth your while to continue. (There’s a lot more on this subject, but I don’t want to stray too far from the subject).

Only the most skilled players change up betting patterns to confuse their opponents. If you stray from the recommended tactics (their recommended for a reason) you risk screwing yourself royally. You need a lot of confidence in your skills so that you can adequately deal with the situation if things start going askew. The fun players are the ones that have the confidence, but don’t actually have the skills.

Another way to read players is with “tells”, the term used to describe body language oriented information (you know, the whole poker face thing).  I find this to be of lesser value. There are very few 100% reliable tells. Also, since some people are aware of the general tells, they intentionally “act” them out to induce the action they desire. Things can get confusing by design. So I usually try to ignore those things.

Another method for gathering information for reading players comes from table banter. And not necessarily what is being said during the course of the hand in play. Some players like to talk about hands that they have played, and, of course, why they played it a certain way. One of the best reads I ever made was based on something the player in question said about ½ an hour earlier. I wasn’t able ascertain what he had, but I was able to figure out what he didn’t have. Then I knew I had him beat.  He was out of the tournament shortly thereafter.

So what makes me hard to read? We’ll start with betting patterns. I have heard both “You always do the same thing” and “You never play a hand the same way twice”. Interesting paradox, hey? Both methods are legitimate techniques for keeping people off balance with respect to reading your hand.  But how do I employ both techniques, apparently simultaneously? That’s where we get into my secret stuff and I have to stop. But I will say this. There is a distinct characteristic/trait that differentiates the two camps and their difficulties in reading me.

What about tells? I created a deliberate set of mannerisms that I execute EVERYTIME I’m in a hand to address the “tells” angle.  I attempt to deviate from them as little as possible. They are designed with certain concepts in mind, but we again are trespassing into my land of secrets so I must stop.

I obviously refrain from talking about my hands openly at the table. Just last night a lady was questioning why I played my hand the way I did.  I didn’t give her the satisfaction of an elaborate response. I took your chips, so what I did worked. Later I commented that the way someone else played a hand was interesting, and she said it was like the way I played the hand she questioned me on. Well, sorry honey. There was actually 2 big differences (specifically, the players left in the hand and the straight and flush possibilities on the board made for a very different dynamic than the hand I was in.)

You can email me at lancep62@hotmail.com

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