Reading Opponents at the Poker Table: How solid reads can be better than big hands

Andrew Popov · Oct 18, 2019

This video blows my brain... Everywhere, in all manuals and strategies, it is said that we should pre-flop raise with AA. Player 3 did not do this; he was limping preflop. This already makes the whole hand - not right. By the way, in the end, player 3 was punished, allowing the player on the BB to get thrips from the flop for free.

Of course, we must track and flag players with such irregular lines of the game.

PsychoVas · Oct 18, 2019

Although I already have made a comment on this video, here's another thought, associated to a news post I commented on earlier:
Why the heck slow-play Aces? I think that slow-play pre-flop is a disaster just waiting to take place! Suppose Katie wasn't the psychic, and went along to showdown, the A2 villain would have been even happier.
Opposed to the other strategy video, that Colin uploaded for us, where slow-playing after the flop is a chip-eater, that move was pure suicide.
One more time, congrats for the read, Katie!

kraemer · Oct 18, 2019

The key point is that when you really have a read on your opponent this fold becomes easy, because you literally know your hand is beaten...
Unfortunately I don't have this skill level in getting reads. I once had a guy in my weekly home game that was reafable like an open book. Even I could figure out precisely when he had a really strong hand. Against him i won a lot of chips, but also made some laydowns with super strong hands because i was so sure i was beaten by something even better and the times he showed his hand uncalled i was usually correct...
Hopefully I can soon spice ip my reading skills at the tables when i start to work as a dealer in the local casino. It's a great opportunity to work on it without having to put any money at stake

Edison A · Oct 19, 2019

Fantastic, it helped me a lot to see it, I think I have to improve my game a lot, unfortunately I have a lot of flaws in my game, lately I also had a bad run, thanks for the video I will put into practice what I learned

Polytarp · Oct 19, 2019

Katie Dozier said:
Awww, thanks so much for the nice comments in this thread, I really appreciate them all!

Thanks for the clip! If possible, do you have this same game with your Poker Tracker statistics lined up underneath the players? Or, do you have similar games where you can justify your play based on the "statistical profile" of a player that is visible?

I'm a micro player who sometimes binges on PStars satellite games (spins, small MTT's) like I'm doing presently during this Bounty Fest. To go deep into a big game I need to make the most of my marginal hands and because I am "unknown" to the regular big players I may be underestimated here and there. Along with Shark Scope and Poker Tracker, I do my best to suss out "who is playing off who" and learn by example on the fly to size my bets and correlate them with semi and pure bluffs. The good hands usually are easier to work with.

In your clip, had you bet out, what would have been A2's threshold to fold if you were to guess? I would have gone that route first to get him out. AA would probably have tried to trap me by calling or slightly raising..I've had AA vs another AA and had sometimes won/lost due to a flush after some interesting betting.

As a final note regarding poker playing AI, have you heard of "Pluribus?"

Any comments would be appreciated and hope to meet you at the tables!

Katie Dozier · Oct 19, 2019

Polytarp said:
Thanks for the clip! If possible, do you have this same game with your Poker Tracker statistics lined up underneath the players? Or, do you have similar games where you can justify your play based on the "statistical profile" of a player that is visible?

I'm a micro player who sometimes binges on PStars satellite games (spins, small MTT's) like I'm doing presently during this Bounty Fest. To go deep into a big game I need to make the most of my marginal hands and because I am "unknown" to the regular big players I may be underestimated here and there. Along with Shark Scope and Poker Tracker, I do my best to suss out "who is playing off who" and learn by example on the fly to size my bets and correlate them with semi and pure bluffs. The good hands usually are easier to work with.

In your clip, had you bet out, what would have been A2's threshold to fold if you were to guess? I would have gone that route first to get him out. AA would probably have tried to trap me by calling or slightly raising..I've had AA vs another AA and had sometimes won/lost due to a flush after some interesting betting.

As a final note regarding poker playing AI, have you heard of "Pluribus?"

Any comments would be appreciated and hope to meet you at the tables!

Unfortunately I don’t have the clip with my normal stats as I no longer have those hands in my PT4 database as it was on a different computer than I use now. Suffice it to say I knew exactly which reg was limping and iirc had over 25k hands with them—this is the type of play where I had to be totally sure of their play in order to make the correct fold [emoji4]

I would never bet out here as I’m playing shove fold 99.99% of the time with my stack here. Otherwise I’m presenting the opportunity for another person to sniff out my big hand. So this is a raaaaare exception where I don’t simply shove pre over a limp, as I think it is important to balance my range and do this with huge hands in addition to the many weaker holdings that I would shove were this not a reg suspiciously limping before me.

I believe Pluribus is the NL bot that won a match earlier this year, pretty wild!

Everyone, thanks for your continued nice comments, I appreciate it and am glad you enjoyed the hand too!

lucas24 · Oct 22, 2019

Awesome reading! Some players with short stack in those situations usually limp in early positions with strong hands, but you did an incredible aces reading. I think I couldn't have folded the kings despite the suspicion.

Anders1616 · Oct 23, 2019

A really good video. It shows how to avoid a mistake I have don over and over.

Last night i lost with a pair of KK, i went all in and the 2 remaining players followed.
The first player had 88 and the next had 9 and 10 of hearts, and at the river there was 3 hearts and the last was an 8.
One player with 888
One player with flush
One player with KK
So i was busted.

Katie Dozier · Oct 23, 2019

lucas24 said:
Awesome reading! Some players with short stack in those situations usually limp in early positions with strong hands, but you did an incredible aces reading. I think I couldn't have folded the kings despite the suspicion.

Thanks very much!

Katie Dozier · Oct 23, 2019

Anders1616 said:
A really good video. It shows how to avoid a mistake I have don over and over.

Last night i lost with a pair of KK, i went all in and the 2 remaining players followed.
The first player had 88 and the next had 9 and 10 of hearts, and at the river there was 3 hearts and the last was an 8.
One player with 888
One player with flush
One player with KK
So i was busted.

Thank you and I hope you have better luck next time!

Bozovicdj · Oct 23, 2019

Tammy said:
We all know what to do when the great cards come our way. But do you know how to correctly follow your reads on your opponents to keep from making big mistakes? By stopping and analyzing the known information we have in front of us, it can flip seemingly "no-brainer" decisions on their head. Our Ambassador and Poker Expert Katie Dozier shows us how:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DY7W_JnFrg

Would you be able to make the same play?

Are you an online version of Mike Postle?

Jokes aside, good fold and good read obviously.
Would you say that UTG will limp QQ as much as AA here? Would he limp AK/AQs? If he has those in his limp range from UTG, isn't betting kinda mandatory?

In this instance this was the correct play, cause we saw the cards, would you be super surprised to see A2 vs QQ here?

freddydr87 · Oct 23, 2019

For making that move you need to have notes off the vilain,you have to know him, because is you going to interpretated that move acording to a rangue is more likelly that he is limping with middle pokets or middle suited conectors. That is a move that some players like to do because they dont wanth peaple folding his shove(the correct play with 10bb).

sharipov8090 · Oct 23, 2019

Hi!Not always opponents will have such hands.without having information on opponents I would not lay down KK.A good lesson a lot of instructive - what we meet every day-it's a game!live and learn!Good luck to everyone!

makisaa · Oct 23, 2019

If we want to be great players we must take great decisions. The correct reads are very important because we know what really is going on and can boost our stack or save them like in the video.

bablovod · Oct 24, 2019

thanks for the video, Katie. your ability to read the opponent just hit me in the heart. I have never folded such hands, and have suffered many times for my folly. your actions make me look at my game from a different angle. I hope I can do it.

king11682 · Oct 24, 2019

Incredible hand KK, A2, AA and wins the worst A2, good reading on the flop by the SB to throw the KK.

Syltan · Oct 26, 2019

Well, the limp on the preflop is good, if we are ready to give up, the fold on the flop is also good, but really if you take a break and analyze the situation, then the fold is not so strong, but it is not easy. Great distribution from the pro!

Edu1 · Oct 27, 2019

really nice hero fold, i admit i would raise this KK on small blind, hahaha i need to learn more how read the preflop action to be able to avoid this possibles mistakes
two observations on this hand
how the guy with 1421 of stack still in the tournament,

if i'm the player 3 i shove this AA easily, slow playing this hand is not good

zam220 · Oct 27, 2019

Reading opponents ' hands is an important element of the game! I happen to throw off AA and KK, it all depends on the flop and turn, and on the river it is already difficult to throw off!

XYZ2123 · Oct 27, 2019

Having solid reads on your opponents definitely makes decision-making so much easier. Great advice for sure but (unfortunately for me) not a luxury micro stakes players have most of the time. Can't wait until I can play some higher stakes.

Miguel Chacon · Oct 27, 2019

What a great Hand high level of poker!! hehe me personally I'm leaning to fold these premium hand when is obvious that you're beat had some similar situation where I think ''is obvious he has Aces or trips or straight and I still pay with my pocket KKs xD'' but like I sad I'm working thanks for teaching us this Katie !

n1ckoftime · Oct 27, 2019

White magic is crucial in some spots

Paya_31 · Oct 27, 2019

Hello, very good explanation, it is very difficult to fold this type of hands, but you have to learn that this type of hands also lose, in the video it is a very wet flop, where Katie passes, very well played, where the first player to speak Upload and the same. Where Katie throws her hand. Very good reading and a great example for those who are learning to play.

vnnby · Oct 29, 2019

It was amazing!!!

ELPRIIINCIPE · Oct 29, 2019

In this situation I do not see that difficult to fold KK there, because it is very possible to lose with a limp of the utg and the player of the big blind has seen the free flop, which can easily make me assume a hand like the one that just has achieved Of course, that fold assumes that it has a lot to do with the information about rivals.

Reading Opponents at the Poker Table: How solid reads can be better than big hands

Andrew Popov

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PsychoVas

What The Duck???

kraemer

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Edison A

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Polytarp

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Katie Dozier

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lucas24

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Anders1616

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Katie Dozier

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Katie Dozier

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Bozovicdj

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freddydr87

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sharipov8090

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makisaa

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bablovod

stupid parody of the game

king11682

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Syltan

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Edu1

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zam220

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XYZ2123

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Miguel Chacon

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