Hand Reading Skills

In order to make fundamentally correct plays, it is important to have some idea about what you are up against. So how do you put your opponent on a hand? Simple: pay attention. Whether you are in the current poker hand or not, you need to pay attention to the action at all times in order to learn what your opponents’ tendencies are. By simply watching the aciton, you will likely be able to find the answers to the following questions:

On the Pre-flop
1. What hands will opponents raise with?
2. What hands will they call with?
3. Do they play conservatively or loosely from early position?
4. How often do they defend their blind to a raise?
5. Do they raise a lot of hands, or are they on the careful side?

On the Post-Flop
1. What type of hands will they check raise with?
2. Do they play draws aggressively or passively at a poker table?
3. Do they slow-play made hands?
4. Do they ever bluff in a poker game?
5. Do they fold often on the flop, or will they call all the way to the river?

These are ten questions that you will learn the answers to simply by paying attention and making mental notes. And the more you play, the better you will get at it.