Playing The Opponent in Texas Holdem

Adapting to your opponents style of play is probably the hardest part about Texas Holdem. There is a lot which can be discussed on this subject, but I will keep this section very short. The reason for this is twofold. First of all, this is an art that you will be better off learning while you play. Reading page after page about how to play against different opponents in different unique situations in the beginning of your career will hardly do you any good. Secondly, you want to seek out bad opponents that you can beat simply by making them pay when you have the best hands, and by not paying too much when they have it. Bad players tend to play very transparently and it can be easy to know when they really have a hand.

You should pay close attention to the game to try and gain an advantage. Is there a player that raises before the flop with hands that they should fold? Then you can call their raises more often than you usually would. Is there a player that never seems to raise even if they have a strong hand, then you should be very hesitant to call when they do raise, unless you have a premium starting hand yourself. Is there an opponent that tries to bluff all the time when it is checked to them? Those notorious bluffers you want to call with more hands than those players who never bluff. Is there an opponent that calls all the time? Don’t try to bluff against these stations. Against poor players, you can also play more starting hands, since the extra money they pay can turn a slightly unprofitable hand into a winning one.

Trying to find predictable patterns in your opponents play will help you to make the right decisions, and this skill will become more important as you move up in stakes. At the same time, mixing up your own play to make yourself less predictable will make it harder for the opponents to make the right decisions against you. However, it is important not to overdo it. It’s best to be aggressive when you have position in the hand, because you will be last to act and hence will have a better idea of the strength of your opponents hands.

You might have seen on TV how professional poker players raise with bad hands, make very cunning bluffs and call or raise with very marginal hand because they think that their opponents are bluffing. I’ve got some advice for you, do not try this at home! More correctly, do not try this at the low limit tables that you probably will start at. You will need to have good cards to win. Poker pros can play bad cards because they have a lot more post flop experience and can sense weakness in their opponents. Since people call to much, you will rarely take the pot with a bluff. There will be little reason to try and confuse your opponents by playing weak starting hand since most of them hopefully do not pay much attention to your play. You should play very straightforward poker against bad opponents and for the most part just value bet against them. And if you are not against bad opponents you should probably switch table.

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