Question from a Beginner

[moddi1]

hey guys, i wud just liek to know when u are at a table or in a tournament..how do u analyse a player, like how can u tell if hes bluffing by what type of player he is and etc...

it wud be good if someone posts a vid of them playing in a MTT with commentary!

Also what poker programs do u guys use for statistics, does it help alot to have these programs?

thanks

[ubermonkey1]

hi moddi.

to get reads on players you need to watch their play ,not only against you but also your other opponents at the table
by watching their play you should be able to determine their style of play which should help to gauge their likely holding.

if they play a lot of pots and bet a lot they are loose aggressive.
if they play a lot of pots but dont like raising /reraising they are loose passive .
if they play harldly any hands but bet hard when they do ,they are tight aggressive.
if they play hardly any hands and dont bet much when they do they are tight passive.
also any cards that reach showdown should help with your evaluation of your opponents so keep an eye on that.

the two easy ones to play against are the 2 tight players, as you can bet their hand either will be a pp or 2 face cards


a lot of players on here swear by poker tracker etc, and it does look like a good idea ,but you need to be able to do this yourself really.
if your ever playing in a live enviroment poker software is not going to help.

one good way of practising is to watch other hands, and try to put each player on a hand.
its suprising how many times you can get very close to the cards they are holding .
it does take a while to get good at it because the more different hands/sitations you see ,the better you get at reading betting patterns and the players in question.

[moddi1]

thanks alot man

[GotaFancy?]

I've posted a cash game video with commentary here - Video Analysis: GaF at PokerTrillion - 25c/50c NLHE - 5 Handed

You can download sample videos with commentary from the tutorial sites - cardrunners, pokerxfactor etc....

wwwpokertube.com is probably worth checking out too - loads on there

Software tools aren't as useful with MTTs as with Cash Games because the game is a lot more fluid - players need to move on and change their play according to stack sizes and situations - whilst cash games are usually pretty deep stacked and more stable....

For STTs, for offline analysis, something like SitandGo End Game Tools is pretty helpful

If you're an MTT player, I would strongly suggest that you read the Harrington on Holdem Trilogy.

[Nade]

How to analyse a player?

- Watch their patters - do they bet a lot or play tight etc.

- Then you use these thoughts to work out how to play your hand against the player.

- Then you check raise them and go broke.

[gazabroad]

Originally Posted by Nade

- Then you check raise them and go broke.

Spot on