In online poker, hand reading was once considered as a complex affair. Actually, hand reading is just like putting puzzle together. If you can detect the right clues and make some informed guesses, it is not that harder to find out the opponents’ hands.
Hand reading is an art based on deductive logic. Players need to observe data around and the way their opponent is going to play. A player can analyze data from previous experiences from there to assume how their opponent may play their next move.
On the basis of assumptions, player can interpret the actions of opponents and focus on potential holdings. Even though nothing can teach you experiences as such, there are some reasonable assumptions that you can easily formulate.
Making Basic Assumptions in Hand Reading
There are certain basic assumptions about the game of your opponents that should be true somehow to work with simple hand reading. These are the common signs to help you make good assumption on the next hand and move of your opponent. Your opponent wouldn’t make bets on thin value, which is the most common sign.
Actually, he will be confident enough to have best hand and you may call with worse hand before making attempts when it comes to bet for value. The more reserved your opponent is, the more effective your technique is going to be.
Another common sign is that your rival won’t want to turn made-hand in a bluff. In case he assumes that he can win at showdown, he will attempt to showdown cheaply without moving his opponent off their hand. They may bluff because they have too small chance to win.
The last common sign is that your opponent won’t chase drag in case of bad odds. If he banks on chances of bluffing or implied odds, the odds might not be common but he won’t call turn of pot size on gut feeling. You have to figure out the accuracy of these assumptions to a particular opponent. These assumptions are true most of the time.
Types of Online Poker Hands
For simple hand reading, the key here is to narrow his range as much as possible to one or two categories max –
Showdown hands – In that case, your opponent feels that he has best hand but not going to aim to build the pot. This means players would exercise control on the pot and check when they call and can when they need to.
Monster hands – Your opponent is aiming on these hands to look after big pot. It doesn’t mean he is going to rise at every chance but he is too confident with best hand.
Bluffing – In this category, hands need some improvement or a bluff for the way to win the pot. It doesn’t refer to draws like a four of a kind but to any hand without or with little showdown value.
These poker categories are broad but they can give you some glimpse to make your next move.
