Thoughts on Hand Reading

Sometimes a dim bulb brightens. Like much else in my life, I am never satisfied with anything less than perfection. One of these areas is hand reading. For whatever reason, I got it in my head that to read them correctly, I had to have the exact 2 cards down. At times I have played past this self-defeating belief, such as when I have read instead what they DIDN'T have, or even if I just correctly read the situation...I.E., I am ahead, I am behind, he is on a draw, he has a made hand but my draw is better/worse...in truth, the exact cards only matter when I decide to try and run them down if I think I am behind, and even then the exact cards STILL don't matter...what matters is if they have a hand I can run down or one I am drawing dead to.



To be sure, there have been times I have nailed the exact cards. Probably the best exact card call I ever made was at Home Turf. The old guy was sitting directly across from me. He looked at his cards, then slowly looked at them again. To this day i don't know why I put him on A/4 but I instantly put him on that exact hand. But when the flop brought a red ace and black four, I put him on the ace/4 of the suit that did not fall...and at the showdown he had the A/4 of clubs or spades...it was a spectacular read and I had properly folded. At the same time, I have had BETTER reads...like the time I laid down my Tens full of 8s on the turn and Nathan had Tens full of 9s at the showdown. I properly read him for having me beat and laid down a full house, thus saving a TON of chips. And here is the important part; I did not know WHICH full house he had, only that he had a higher one. There was no 9 on the table...they were pockets for him. He had checked and called the 2 pair on the flop and when the board brought trip 10s he raised. Perhaps the best meaningful read I had came in a game at Mixers against a guy I had never played before. Early on I figured him for the straight and mentioned I laid down 2 pair. He was stunned I would lay down such a powerful hand, though he did confirm he had the straight. Late in the game I had a dominating chip position. I raised the Colts (pocket 4s) from late position and he called. Flop came rags, I raised, he called, turn was another low card giving me a gut shot, I raised, he came over the top all in. I almost folded, then went into the tank. Something about his bet was not right. I thought back to the earlier confrontation. I could not put him on a specific hand but I did put him on a bluff. I could not say what he DID have but I could say what he did not have...a pair or straight. I called. He disgustedly flipped up two big cards and I flipped up my lonely little pair. He could not believe I called with such a weak hand...but the correct read...that I was ahead...allowed me to do so. And I was not just ahead...I was crushing him. At that point we knew 8 cards. There was one to come. 6 of the remaining 44 cards in deck helped him, 38 did not so I was ahead 38-6 or by more than 6 to 1. I like my chances when I can get the chips in with that sort of advantage.

That lesson, that knowing the EXACT cards seldom matters got lost on me somewhere, however. Instead of putting someone on a RANGE of hands I decided I had to put them on the exact hand...and that is where reading gets frustrating and then stops happening.

When someone raises I need to, instead of asking "what two cards does he have", ask, "What types of hands will he bring it in for a raise?"

Examples:

If Jeff raises pre-flop he can have any two cards; I have seen him raise with any pocket pair, with both cards paint, with a dry Ace and with suited connectors. I have also seen him raise with 2/7. So when he raises it is just plain silly to put him on, say, Big Slick.

Conversely, when say...Tor raises, I am not going to put him on a 2/7. I am going to hesitate about 3 seconds, then put him on 10s or better or any Ace from dry on up to big slick. I will also credit him with paint.

Once the flop hits, if checked to Jeff, he will bet with any two cards. Unless someone has already bet you still can't put him on anything. You have to pay to find out. However, as often as not if someone check-raises him he will lay it down which leads one to believe he will bet a lot of sub-optimal hands so he continues to be very deceptive.

Tor will almost always check the flop. If he is raised then he will:

fold if he has a small pair.
call if he has over cards to the board.

So just because he calls does not mean he has a hand. Again, it is silly to put him on a specific hand. I have had him call to the river with straight and flush draws...but also with K/2 off suit that connected with the board in no way, shape, or form. In fact, he is MORE likely to call with a high card and rags than he is a legit draw.

Linda has a pocket pair if she raises. The larger the raise, the smaller the pocket pair.

I know these things and have similar information on a lot of players. In fact, the only ones I DON'T have that sort of information on are two types:

1) people so maniacal they don't even know what they have

Marykay, Dawg, there are a couple prime examples. Either one will stay to the river against flush draws, straight draws, even full houses when they have jack straw. Other times they will raise with nothing thinking they have something and still other times they actually have something...sometimes they know it, other times they don't. They are dangerous players, though I do not personally classify them as good players.

2) People I have only played with since I fell into the habit of "put them on a specific hand or don't bother putting them on a hand at all."

So I am putting a plan in place in the interests of improving my game yet again.

1) Put people on a range of hands every time.

2) Remember information is gathered even if it does not go to a showdown; what was the texture of the flop, betting patterns, any tells I might pick up...I need to remember I can use that information later.

3) Concentrate on just one player as much as possible.

4) Recreate what possibilities were on the board when bets/checks/raises are made and by whom.

5) Ask what they will raise with, what will they call with, and what they will check with.

6) Remind myself it is a RANGE of hands, not a specific hand.

By doing this I hope to have a better grasp on how people act when they have legit hands and how they act when they are speculating which, in turn, will lead to me knowing if I am ahead or behind. And once I have the lead...look out because I am putting the pressure on.