The Waldo Of Poker: Where are you in a hand?

 

 

 

 Where are YOU?…but more importantly, where are THEY?

When playing poker, the better players always seem to know where they are in the hand meaning how strong their hand is in relation to the hands of other players in the pot. The most important thing to take from this is that in most cases, they have a good feel for what range of hands the other players have. 

 

 This is of course important if you are looking to bluff at a pot. One important skill is knowing where your opponent is and knowing what they can/can’t have in a given situation. This information can be based off of what has happened in the hand so far and should be part of your thought process before you attempt a bluff. That alone shouldn’t be reason to run the bluff. You should also have a feel for how sticky your opponent is, that is how often will they call. 

Years ago, there were many more players that would OVER fold (fold too much). In today’s poker world, I feel that there are many more players that will OVER call (call too much). As I have said in many of my blogs, KNOW YOUR OPPONENT. 

 

What is the right move against one opponent can very well be the wrong move against another. I usually avoid trying to do anything too fancy in the early stages of a tournament or a cash game unless I think it has a super high probability of working. I would rather wait until I have more information about the different players at my table. This way, I can make a more educated decision. Also, I am hoping that the image I have tried to portray up to that point has been noticed.

Knowing where your opponent is in a hand is even more valuable when you are deciding on a river value bet. I used to bet the same amount for value on the river percentage wise pretty much all the time. This was obviously a mistake. Your river bet should be based off of where you think your opponent is in the range you assigned to him. If you feel your opponent has a big hand and you can get paid off, bet big. If you feel that your opponent has a marginal hand but is sticky, bet smaller. If you feel that there is no way that your opponent will call you without a hand that beats you, check if you have show down value or consider bluffing (big enough to get a fold) if you don’t.

 This advice is for games where there are a range of poor to solid players. If you are playing against much tougher competition, there is definitely more meta-game things to consider.  That is a discussion for another blog though. Don’t overthink things against average opponents. Don’t get into fancy play syndrome against players that just aren’t going to understand what you are doing. It won’t work! You are better off playing a solid poker game in the long run in those games.

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Frank L. DiRe - Nerdthusiast Content Writer
Twitter @FLD15