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A SIMPLE READ

Reading hands is one of the key poker skills that must be well developed for a player to succeed above the smaller limit games.

Two key facets of hand reading in holdem are:

1.Interpreting your opponent’s actions on each betting round, and narrowing down the hand he might have, in light of the cards that have been dealt up to that point.

2.Looking backward from the current point in the hand to interpret the earning of your opponent’s action in light of the previous cards, and his previous actions. As you can probably see, these two elements are closely intertwined. In practice they will often be indistinguishable as parts of the hand reading process as a whole, but for purpose of study it is useful to separate them. For more discussion of these and other aspects of reading hands I refer you to Sklansky and Malmuth’s Holdem Poker for Advanced Players: 21st Century Edition as well as The Theory of Poker and Holdem Poker both by David Sklansky.

A Bet From Out of Nowhere

To demonstrate these points I will describe a read from a hand I played. It clearly illustrates the process of eliminating hands your opponent might have by interpreting his actions as the hand progresses and successive cards are dealt. It is also an example of looking back to see what his action on the end might indicate in light of his previous actions in the hand. This hand took place in a $40-$80 holdem game which was about average for a game at this limit in Southern California with regard to its overall level of tightness and aggression. I will not explain the thinking behind my actions throughout the hand. That is beyond the scope of this essay. Here I will focus only on my read of my opponent’s hand.

I was in the small blind holding:

Everyone folded and I completed the small blind for $20.(Note that this game is played with a time charge rather than a rake of drop. Therefore many of the players, including myself, opt not to “chop” in the blinds.) The big blind, who is normally very aggressive in such heads-up situations did not raise. The flop came:

I checked, and he checked along. Because he was not only an aggressive poker player, but a tricky one, this told me that he either had very little, perhaps just two low cards without much relation to the flop, or he was slow playing something fairly strong. The turn brought the again we both checked.

Now I knew he almost certainly had nothing. In fact, I knew I very likely had the best hand. Do you see why? If not, you might want to pause here for a moment to think about how I could have concluded that my hand was likely best. The river was the

This time I checked and he bet. It was like a bet from out of nowhere. Why? Well, I knew this player well enough to know that he almost surely would have bet earlier in the hand with any pair. He also would have bet with ace-high most of the time. He was savvy enough to know that such a bet could have merit either as a bet for value or as a poker semi-bluff.

Therefore, it was very unlikely that he had an ace or any other pair nor did I fear a better king-high. All but one of them would give him two overcards with which he would have raised preflop and bet after the flop, or a gutshot draw on the turn which he also would likely have bet. This made my king-high a strong favorite to be the best hand. So what did my opponent’s bet mean? Well, just as I had noticed his checking on every previous round, and had concluded that he held a very weak hand, he had noticed mine. He knew that my checks suggested a weak hand for me as well.

He figured I probably couldn’t call a bet (and assumed I was unlikely to check-raise as a bluff), and thus reasoned he had a good chance to pick up the pot with a bet. I therefore put him fairly confidently on a bluff. So I called with my relatively “good” no pair hand, despite getting only 2-to-1 from the pot. He showed and I took the pot.

Notice that this read was made simpler by the hand being played heads-up with additional players involved, not only might I have had to read other hands, but I would have been less sure of my read of this opponent’s hand.

For instance, he probably would have been a little less like to bet before the river with something like a small pair or ace-high. The two skills I have highlighted here are important to develop in order to be a good reader.

Work on eliminating hands as you relate your opponent’s actions on each round to the cards that have come. Look back from the current round through all previous texas betting rounds to see how his current action makes sense when related to the previous cards and actions. Hint: As was the case with this hand, you will sometimes spot a bluff because his current action does not make much sense in that light.

The Strategic Moment in Holdem / One Way Not to Fold /

Beating the Berserko: Preflop Against a Maniac /

On Into the Storm: Playing the maniac After the Flop

One Reason to Reraise a Maniac / A Simple Read / Countering a Good Reader

Thinking About What They’re Thinking / Out On the Edge

Considerations in Two Blind Stealing Defense situations

Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part I

Easing the Transition to the middle Limits: Part II / Multiple Changing Images