Poker News & Strategies

Poker Pros Excel at Reading Hands

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 Send page to friend Bookmark page Smaller font Larger font Printer friendly
One of the skills that separate professional poker players from average players is their ability to read hands. You can almost see a progression from a player who goes from a newbie to a professional simply by how well they read opponent’s poker hands.

When a player begins playing poker they usually just see their own hand and the board. The player that starts to learn the game and make some moves will see his own hand, the board, and he will start to try to put his opponent on a hand. The next stage is where a player sees his own hand, his opponent's hand, and what his opponent thinks he has. The final stage is where the poker pro is and that is where he sees his own hand, his opponent’s hand, what his opponent thinks he has plus if his opponent is capable of deception.

The poker professional has learned to read hands and make decisions very quickly. He will already have analyzed position, bet sizes and be asking questions like why did the player bet or not bet, how an opponent will react if he raises, etc? For many poker players they simply don’t have enough time to properly analyze all of the information and make a good decision. That is not as much of a problem for the poker pro. The professional poker player takes all the pieces of information he has and puts it together quickly. It is similar to putting together a puzzle. Sometimes the poker pro is wrong in putting everything together but more often than not he is right and that is why he is a good hand reader and a poker pro.


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