Do You Know Your Players?

I have received several e-mails lately, many of which have similar queries. The common theme seems to be, "How do I play this hand?" Then, the cards in question are the extent of the info I am given by the writer. There is so much more to poker than, "Do this when you have that, and do that when you have this." Given identical situations, I might do diametrically opposed things against different opponents. When I try to explain that generally the answer is, "It depends," I know the writer will probably be frustrated. But, it is true – it depends. I recently figured out that many players may not understand that concept, as they don't know what these situations depend on. Let me try to explain what types of things need to be considered in order to play a hand correctly against an individual opponent. There are many such factors to consider.

One primary thing to think about is, how many hands does this opponent play? Does he see lots of flops or does he play relatively few? Or, does he play somewhere in the middle? Does he fall in love with suited connectors and any two paints? Does he put lots of money in the pot with small pairs and/or play them out of position? These are all things you need to weigh when deciding how to play a hand against a specific player. If you are up against someone who plays very few hands and generally "has the goods" when he shows one down, you will need to give him more credit for having a hand when he is in the pot. If you are up against someone who has looked at several flops and shown down small pairs on the river (whether they won or not), you will need to employ an entirely different strategy.

Oftentimes it is easier to play against good players, as they will give your bets respect and cause you less frustration. It is important to note that they are not the players who will give you their money day after day. It is the players who put the worst beats on you who are the winning players' bread and butter. Frequently, I see good players go nuts over losing a hand, going on and on and berating a player for playing badly. "How can you play that hand?" they will ask. I think to myself, "Uh, perhaps he plays poker for the fun of it and has a good job."

Recently I was playing poker online and saw a hand in which one player had raised the pot preflop and was called by another. The raiser led at the pot the entire way, and was called all the way down. On the river, the caller made two pair and took down a pretty decent-sized pot. Our hero went on a verbal tirade in the chat box that had me falling out of my chair laughing. He held the A K and was up against a 9-8 offsuit. The flop came A-9-3 with two spades. So, he had the best hand and a bunch of outs to make a monster hand. On the turn, an offsuit 7 came. This, of course, helped no one. The river produced an 8, and the A K bet again. He got raised by his opponent and paid it off, only to be beaten by the two pair. That is when the lesson in the chat box began. The player with 9-8 offsuit is exactly the kind of player I want in my game, and this is exactly how I want him to play. On the river he was drawing to four outs in the deck. Why would I not celebrate his bad play by telling him, "Nice hand," or something similar?

This brings up another point about knowing your opponent. Does he bet or call a lot? Does he lead at the pot or play passively and let you do the betting? Had our hero in the above instance been aware of how the other player played, he might have saved a bet on that fateful river. If the player was passive and a caller, and all of a sudden woke up and raised a pot, maybe it was time for our hero to think he could be beaten. The 8 in the above example had to help the player in order for him to raise, so our hero should have known it was likely that his aces were no longer good. Knowing your players and their tendencies will help you to earn more money on the hands you win, and lose less on those that come in second. Class dismissed.

There is still time to register for the World Poker Players Conference, which will be held on July 11 at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Please call the Card Player Cruises office at (888) 999-4880, or in Las Vegas at (702) 567-9930, for more information. Any player interested in learning more about the game should plan to attend this all-day conference that will feature poker authors, writers, and world-class players sharing their best stuff for winning at the tables. Also, please e-mail me your poker-related questions and comments.