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Putting players on a hand/paying attention.
Putting another player on a certain hand is one of the best ways to make/save money. It some ways its a lot more reliable than looking for tells, because tells can be acted or thrown in to throw you off your game. In order to put a player on a hand, you have to play attention to how that hand is being played from beginning to end. Other factors to keep in mind are: Player position and the type of player he is.
Some players who are looking at a preflop raise might think "Im putting that player on a big PP because he raised" Well, did you come up with that conclusion because you instantly think: RAISE = [BIG] PAIR or did you look at the factors involved?
Example 1: UTG raises 4x BB. You are holding 10s/10d and its folded to you. Your options are fold, call, or raise...so what do you do? Well, first we need to take a look at the 2 preflop factors.
A. Type of player and position:
-If a tight player raises in early position and you are certain its a hand better than yours, a fold would be your best option. A call here could be would be ok, because you are in position but, if the player follows up with a bet you really need to improve your hand in order to stay in.
-If a loose player(over values hands) raises and you are certain your hand is most likely the best, a call here would be the best option. If you think your opponent is playing a smaller pair or low suited connecters, then a raise here would be the better option.
For now lets say its a good semi-tight player. He plays a lot of hands, especially suited and connecting, but throws away garbage hands. You call his raise and its heads up.
The flop comes out Qd 10c 4c.
The player bets out and you reraise with your set of 10s. The player simply calls. Now what do you put him on? Well, unless you have a monster read on your opponent, it’s a bit hard to put him on a hand at the moment. Your first guess might be: A straight draw or a flush draw. He could also have a pair of queens or an over pair. Here is where you should start to eliminate possible hands (it also helps to know what hands you opponent is likely to play). Possible hands he could be playing are: [suited] AK, AQ, KJ, KQ, QJ, J10, or possibly J9. He could also have AA, KK, or possibly 44-but knowing him as a fairly tight player, you could eliminate the odds of him raise UTG with 44. The same with QQ, since he wouldve pushed over the top of your reraise with the 2 draws on the board. So now you've narrowed your choices to: top pair, over pair, or a draw…not enough information yet to put your opponent on a hand.
The turn is a 6s, showing a board of [Qd 10c 4c 6s]
Again the player bets out and you reraise him. Again the player calls your reraise. Now what do you put him on? Well, you should be positive the 6 didn’t help him, unless he's holding 66 (but that’s very unlikely). No drawing card came, but he still bet at it. You know that if the flop bet was just a feeler, then your opponent wouldn’t have bet the turn if he didn’t have anything. Knowing this you could narrow the hands down to over pair and top pair with possible straight or flush draw. AA, KK, AQ, KQ, QJ. In fact if your opponent was holding an AA or KK, he wouldve most likely pushed after the turn if he feared a flush or straight draw. So, its somewhat save to believe that he isnt holding AA or KK and is most likely on a draw with top pair.
The river is a Jd, showing a board of [Qd 10c 4c 6s Jd]
Again the player bets, you reraise him, and this time he comes over the top with a reraise. Now what do you do? Well, lets look back at the the hand was played. Your opponent came out betting preflop, on the flop, turn, and river. Knowing the player, it was safe to assume that his turn bet was not another feeler and had most likely hit the board (since you know he wouldn’t bet out on just a draw). Its safe to assume that your opponent didn’t hit his set of Jacks on the river, even though its likely, you know he wouldve played it differently with a board showing an overcard. Now what hand could your opponent be holding for him to reraise at the end? You're 100% it’s a Q with a good kicker and his raise did send off some warning bells as to why he would be when the Jd hit. If he had QA-he wouldved come over the top on the flop, so you could eliminated that option. QK is a hand he may be holding and he was only calling the raises, so he couldve feared you holding the AQ, but why would he raise on the river with QK if he was playing it safe on the other streets? So, your best option is that your opponent hit 2 pair with QJ, which could be very likely. To take it further, you know your opponent wouldve most likely slowed it down after the flop reraise with QJ (if he feared QK or QA), but the way he played his hand out allows you to come to the conclusion, that he did have possible outs after the flop. Since a straight draw is out the question, the only draw would be the flush. So you can conclude he is hold the QJ of clubs. You call his raise and win the pot.
Note: This is just a theory hand, but it shows how a hand could be played if you pay attention to your opponents. A scare card on the board doesn’t not instantly mean you are beat, 2 suited cards on the board doesn’t not instanly mean your opponent is on a flush draw…pay attention to how your opponent plays, eliminate possible hands, and in the end come up with the best conclusion. If you're beat-fold. If you think you're holding the better hand-call. |
