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Poker Skills
After all is said and done it is your poker skills and the ability of reading and playing against your opponents that it ultimately comes down to in the game of poker.
Your hand doesn't have to be the best possible to win the betting round. Many poker games often end with very small hands such as a Pair being the takers of the pot. Your hand simply has to be better than what everybody else has. The poker skills you posses and the way you are able to utilize them will have a large impact on whether or not you will win the showdown.
In this section of our web page we cover the two most important poker skills: understanding poker psychology and the ability to recognize and read poker tells.
For quicker access and easier navigation you can either jump directly to each part of poker skills by clicking on the one of the two subjects below or simply scroll down the page.
Poker Psychology
There are many known poker strategy moves and theories that may help one improve his poker skills. One of the very important and powerful poker skills is the ability to understand the psychology behind the game. There is no single strategy that will teach poker psychology. Some will master that skill over time playing many rounds of poker, and some will spend enormous amounts of time and money and will go broke trying.
It is a true skill to know what your opponents are holding.
The basic principle behind poker psychology is to follow the way your opponents play and to sense how strong their hands are based on the decisions they are making.
It requires a lot of practice and focus to get to that point. The more time you will spend playing and analyzing, the more you will begin to understand the logic behind the moves made by other players depending on the current strength of their hand. It is important not to get distracted during the game. Watching television while playing poker is certainly not recommended.
It is good to keep track of how each of your opponents bets.
Start by following only those who haven't folded, as it may be too difficult to follow every player at the beginning. As you will get more experience and start reading your opponents better you will also be able to keep track of the amounts of the bets.
At the end of the game make a note of what hand each opponent had and make an assessment of how they were betting compared to the strength of their hand. This will show you if they were betting aggressively with weak hands or in hopes to improve to a winning hand. If they were looking for improvement get an idea of how realistic was the potential improvement.
Pay attention to how your opponents respond to other players and the betting structure of the game. Watch for things such as player behavior during early stages of betting. Did they appear strongly at the beginning to finally fade away and fold after a strong approach and heavy betting? Did they give any indication that their hand may have improved? How did that effect their betting?
Categorize your opponents and adapt to the way they play by modifying your strategy.
There are two types of poker players: loose players and tight players.
Loose players tend to bet strongly or stay in the game for a long time even if they are holding very weak hands. Tight players on the other hand are more likely to fold quickly.
Your opponents can also fall into an aggressive or passive player category.
Aggressive players would either respond by calling or re-raising when faced with a raise where passive players would fold their hands in the same situation.
Community Card or Stud Poker games are best when it comes to learning poker psychology. This is because you have some idea as to what cards your opponents have before the showdown, where in Draw Poker games you don't have the luxury of knowing what cards they eliminated. This information is also helpful in applying some other poker strategy moves in combination with poker psychology.
Poker Tells
Many successful and unsuccessful poker players talk about the importance of being able to read poker tells. Your opponent's body language may in fact give you an idea of what type of hand they are holding.
You can gather a lot of information by examining your opponents. You would be surprised how many tells are available at a poker table. Games populated by weak opposition are especially vulnerable to the more skilled players with the ability to read poker tells. Low-skilled and Low-Limit players tend to give away many clues with their behavior.
Some players reveal specific tells, but most poker tells are very general in nature and can even be categorized. Once you are able to recognize those tells you will see them repeat over and over again. While studying your opposition watch for both kinds of tells, the general trends and the specific traits.
Poker Tell #1
Leaning back and thinking for a long time is one of those poker tells that falls into the general trend category. When a player takes longer than usual to make a decision it means that his choice of action is not clear and he needs to think about it. It is your job to figure out what he is thinking about. This occurrence can tell you something about the type of hand your opponent may be holding. While you cannot be totally sure what he has, you can definitely eliminate what he does not have. He certainly does not have a hand that would prompt him to make a quick decision. If you were playing a low-limit game at a low-skilled poker table your opponents most certainly doesn't have: an open ended Straight draw, a four card Flush, Two Pair in 7 Card Stud or a Top Pair in Texas Hold'em.
You have to be very careful in order not to give out this tell. It takes time and many hands of poker to master your appearance. In the case of this particular tell you should level the speed of your plays so that when you need a moment to make a decision you will not make it known to other players. For example, don't make a quick decision of calling while holding a strong hand. You should delay calling from time to time. This way when you will have to take a little extra time to evaluate your move it will not look so obvious.
Poker Tell #2
This second type of a poker tell is a natural physiological occurrence that all humans experience when stressed and can be very revealing at a poker table. We all experience anxiousness, increase in heart and respiratory rate or certain bodily movements such as shaking or muscle tightening when faced with certain situations. Tension release or increase, unexpected confrontation or excitement will bring out all those signs, especially in less experienced players. Those who are relatively new to the game have not yet learned how to work with their body and mask the appearance of this tell. The most frequent and obvious tell from this class is respiratory rate change. People who are overweight seem to suffer from this problem the most. If you see a player who starts to suck wind all of the sudden it means that there was a significant change to the status of his hand. It is your job to spot at precisely which moment the wind sucking begins. If wind sucking started immediately after your opponent has seen his
pocket cards in Texas Hold'em it means that he likes what he has. He certainly wouldn't experience any stress and would more than likely proceed with folding if he was looking at a hand such as 10-5. In this case he could possibly be holding Aces or Kings. Your opponent also likes what he sees if he starts to suck wind right after the flop. This could mean that his hand improved to a Top Pair.
Another common poker tell of this kind is knee pumping.
If on the flop a player who is normally very collected, starts to pump his knee under the table it also means that he likes the flop. What he just saw obviously resulted in some tension build up in his body causing the knee pumping.
You may also notice an unintentional shrug from players who like the flop. This very subtle behavior is caused by sudden adrenaline hit. Some players do it every time they like the flop.
While this tell can help you spot a player who likes his hand, you can also occasionally identify a bluff this way. The most important thing is to catch the exact moment at which stress becomes visible. The other part is to figure out the reason that is causing this stress.
If you notice that your opponent appears like he doesn't really care but after you check he places a bet then pauses and starts to suck wind then he may be bluffing.
It is quite possible that your opponent missed the flop, which caused him no stress, then you called, again no stress, and then he decided to bluff. He will be able to compose himself at first but as you sit there and stare at him the stress level will start to build up, his heart and respiratory rate will jump, resulting in the wind sucking behavior.
You need a lot of experience in order not to give out any physiological signs. The more you'll play the more you'll be able to control your behavior. You will be affected by stress less once you'll get into the higher limit games. Even the experienced players are sometimes unable to control all situations they find themselves in. Getting into a routine and playing with a rhythm is the best way to manage your physiology. Look at your cards every time you place a bet and concentrate on your breathing.
Poker Tell #3
The next poker tell we are going to discuss is probably the most reliable low-limit tell.
This particular tell may help you recognize if your opponent already has or is hoping to fill a Flush. Such information puts you in definite advantage. Based on this knowledge you can easily decide whether to fold or bet your hand for value.
Players seem to remember denominations much better than they do suits so if the flop happens to be suited they have to look back at their cards to see if they have a card of that suit.
If the flop contains all hearts and your opponent takes another look at his hand you can probably conclude that he does not have a Flush. He probably has off suited cards and is wondering if one of them is a heart. He wouldn't have to check his cards if he had at least two hearts in his hand. He should be able to remember that much. But if he did in fact hold two hearts and just happened to be one of those players who like to check his cards on regular bases then you may expect him to start sucking wind. Some low-limit players like to peak at their cards frequently. It's something they do compulsively and for no reason at all. Some of them will look at their cards before every bet and some will do it randomly. It's not difficult to point out which players look at their cards often but it is crucial to recognize which players are checking to see if they have another suited card and which ones are simply looking back to admire their newly completed Flush.
Memorizing your cards is certainly the way to avoid giving this tell away to your opponents.
It is not difficult to remember your cards. The reason why players choose not to rely on memory when it comes to their hole cards is simply because they don't realize how important not peeking at what they are holding in their hand really is.
Poker Tell #4
This poker tell will help you identify a player whose behavior is opposite to the truth.
Consciously or subconsciously, players will often act weak and hesitant when in fact they are holding a very strong hand, and those who have week hands will try to appear strong and confident. Those with strong hands are usually more obvious and easier to detect.
There are several revealing signs that will help you pinpoint an opponent who is trying to mislead you. A player may for example, make a bet, call or raise accompanied by a shrug or a comment. He might also slowly push his chips forward with a loud sigh.
Characteristics such as those indicate that your opponent likes his hand but is trying to appear otherwise. A player whose either bluffing or has a weak hand will try to deceive you by throwing his chips into the pot without any hesitation.
Tells that are done consciously such as a bet with a big shrug appear to be more obvious and lavish. Subconscious tells on the other hand are much more subtle. Your opponent may not even be aware of the fact that you are watching, but he will put on an act in hopes that you will observe his subtle behavior and try to take advantage of the situation.
Playing with a routine is the best way to prevent from giving away this tell to your opponents. Rhythm and consistency is definitely your best friend in case of this particular tell. There are many different techniques used by professional poker players and with some time and practice you will find a method that suits you best. The following pointers may be helpful in finding your own routine. Try to look at your hand by pulling up two corners of your cards every time action will get to you. Take a moment and count to five in your head while looking at your cards before announcing your next move. Place your chips in the pot in a cool, composed manner and finish off with that same composure keeping your eyes on the table.
Poker Tell #5
This poker tell deals with players who reach for their chips before it is their turn to bet.
Those who demonstrate such demeanor are usually weak. Aware of the fact that they are being watched they often act in a manner that is opposite to their actual desire. By reaching for their chips out of turn as if they were getting ready to bet or to call you, they may be trying to influence your next move. It is very possible that their goal is to show you that there is no chance of you winning with a bluff and they want to talk you out of it. Bluffing may be just the right move for you in this case.
While this behavior is usually a sign of weakness and is meant to discourage you from betting, there could be several other reasons as to why players reach for their chips.
Some players do it as a ploy and it is simply a habit for others. Players who go by the rule of not folding certain hands like a Top Pair for example, have this tendency as well. Whatever their motive may be, all of those players are going to be consistent with that motion and it is your job to figure out what their reason for doing this is. In order to apply the correct judgment in each case you have to learn the philosophy behind this act on individual player bases. If you have not yet gathered any information about your opponent assume that he is putting on an act in order to deceive you and make a move that is opposite to the direction he is trying to lead you into.
There is a difference in tell reading when it comes to an online poker game.
Poker tells that are physical in nature can't be applied to poker online because players can't see their opponents and therefore judge their physical demeanor.
They can however learn if their opponents are aggressive or passive types of players.
They can also focus their attention on things like betting patterns, reaction time and other non-physical behavior.
Even if you are strictly an online poker player at this time you never know when reading body language in a real face to face poker game can come in handy. Many players who won the main No Limit Texas Hold'em tournament at the World Series of Poker in recent years practiced their skills at an online poker room and even won their entry fees to the Series at an online poker tournament.
Poker tells can be used in combination with categorizing your opponents and analyzing their betting patterns. In time you may learn how to read tells. But it is important to master poker psychology first, before reading tells will ever be possible.
If you are serious about your poker game and would like to study tells more extensively we would recommend reading Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro. You can purchase this book at a very reasonable prize at Amazon.com. Dave Scharf's Winning at Poker would also be worth checking out. This book doesn't cover tells exclusively but it talks about general poker in a well written, easy to understand manner. A very good read especially for players who are new to the game of poker and are looking for some good pointers. You can also buy this book at Amazon.com at a very attractive low price.
To further improve your poker skills check out our poker strategy section.
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