Psychology

You can't play poker and not take into consideration the psychological aspect of the game. You'll always have to ask yourself questions such has « Who's bluffing ? Who's holding a big hand ? Should I bluff, or not ? And when ? »... Here is a little introduction to psychology in poker, where we'll discuss several important topics that you can use as a starting point from which to build your own strategy.

Your opponents

Look at your opponents ! Look at how they play, first. In poker, as in life, you adjust your behaving depending on who you're dealing with. There are so many different character types that you will meet at the table. What you need to focus on is how they emerge at the table.

You can play « tight », « loose », « passive », or « agressive ». In fact, you'll usually meet four different types of players : it has to be your primary to goal to identify them at the table as soon as possible :

* The « loose-passive » player: he's the worst of all, which makes him your targer of choice. He plays « loose » because he's playing almost every hand. Even worse, he's calling every bet and seem to never raise himself. He's a good customer. Never play like him. And if he's your best friend, advise him to quit playing poker !

* The « loose-aggresives »: he also plays a lots of hands, but he's raising with them most of the time. The « loose-aggressive » is crazy, and usually a losing player in the long run. But he can hurt you badly if he gets lucky ! Beware of him. Don't get trapped – wait for him with a good hand.

* The « tight-passive »: when this type of players enters a pot, he usually have a great hand. A premium holding. So beware. On the other hand, he's not betting much. He calls a lot, and only makes a raise when he's 100% sure of having the best hand. That a predictable strategy that, when properly identified, is easy to counter. This player won't do much harm to you if you stay vigilant.

* The « tight-aggressive »: now we're talking about a good player ! He's usually the pro at the table. This kind of player picks his hands carefully, which doesn't means he's only playing the top 10. He has good judgment, and play aggressively in the sense that, when he enters a pot he won't hesitate to bet big and take risks. Also, he's bluffing when the situation is right, when he feels he picked enough information from his opponents behaviour. Try to avoid this kind of player as much as possible. Try to get inspiration from him instead.

Your table image

Try to maintain composure and keep your emotions to yourself at the table. It will help you stay lucid, and it will also avoid revealing precious informations to your opponents. Don't forget : while you watch them, they watch you too...

Without knowing exactly why, at first you will have the tendancy to pick the playing style that suit your personality the best. That's the way it is. It would be a mistake to go against your natural tendancies anyway. What is most important is to know yourself and know the basics. Then you'll be able to question yourself and improve.

As times goes by and experience grows, you'll learn to disguise your playing style, vary the way you play specific hands, and disturb your opponents that are trying to « read » you.

Tells

The tells are all the things you reveal to your opponents while at the poker table... All the « hints » you can't help but drop at the table during a game. Whether it's the hands your play, or your attitude at the table. Tells are everywhere : in your betting amounts, your timing before betting, your gesture, your body language, your reactions, hesitations, emotions... There are a thousands things that you need to be wary about, things that will help you making your decisions. What's important is to be careful with the information you receive : some players will try to trap you by giving false tells.

Never let your guard off when you're playing poker. During the hands you play, obviously. But also AFTER YOU FOLDED YOUR CARDS. By staying focused even on the hands you don't play, you will gets tons of informations on your opponents. Collecting all this data about their body language, betting parterns, hand selection will tremendously when it will be your turn to play a big pot.

Here are a few examples to give you an idea. A word of caution : you'll never be 100% sure your read is right cause some players love to act, Hollywood style. It's up to you to be sharp in your reads to avoid being lead to the wrong conclusion. Experience and instincts are the key.

General concepts: a player who's acting strong is usually weak. And vice-versa. A player who suddendly sits straight on his chair, looks at your directly in the eyes wants to intimidate you. He has a weak hand. Same thing if he's ostensibly getting his hands closer to his chips when it's not even his turn to act : he doesn't want you to bet ! On the other hand, if a good player seems devastated or looks uninterested, beware ! He's certainly sitting behind a monster hand. Generally, you'll want to reverse the messages you receive from the other players.

Eyes: someone who's looking at you directly in the eyes wants to persuade you to fold your cards. Call him ! On the other hand, someone with sad eyes has a good hand. Run away !

Hands: the most reliable tells are the one you can find by looking at your opponent's hands. While it's easy to disguise your faciale language, your hands will often betray yourself. Shaking, lack of confidence in the way the player moves in chips are often the sign of a weak hand.

Breathing: if your opponent breathes in a fast way, he's usually not at ease. He's probably bluffing ! If he's holding his breath, same conclusion. He knows you're watching him and wants to disguise his discomfort.

Talk: At poker, it's perfectly fine to talk during a hand you're involved in. Chat with your opponent. Ask him how much did he bet, even if you know it already. By doing this you might pick up something, like a change in your opponent's tone. A strangled voice is often a big sign of a bluff...

But let's say it again: all of this isn't set in marble. There's no definite rule about tells. It all depends on your opponents skills... and yours. Against a beginner, you'll have be straight-forward. Against an experience player, here comes the second degree and trapping. Against a world class player... don't even try to read him !

What about yourself ? Well, you need to pay attention to your gesture, your body language, what you say, etc... Don't let your opponents read you like an open book. The best is to remain motionless all the time. If you succeed, congratulations to you !

Bluffing

That the word everyone associates poker with, the word that everyone knows, even if they never played a hand of poker in their lives... You can't begin to learn poker and start bluffing right away, because in order to run a proper bluff, you first need to assimilate all the other poker important notions of strategy and psychology. Your opponents image is crucial, but yours is, too.

In order to be a good bluffer, you need to be a good player already. You also need lots of instinct and courage. You can't just opt to bluff at any time during any hand. You need to pick the right situations and the right opponents. When you're getting started, don't bluff much. It won't prevent you from winning, not at all ! Even world class players aren't bluffing a lot. Experience, knowledge of the game and of your opponents will help you picking the right situations to run a proper bluff.

There's no magical formula on how to bluff. Someone who's trying to sell you one is probably.... bluffing !