What is your strategy for assessing other players at your table?

Every player has their own betting patterns, whether online or live, it doesn't really matter. Online, of course, you get much more information about your opponents, but you also reveal more about yourself, whether consciously or unconsciously. Regardless of whether you can read your opponent or not, what’s much more important is that the cards hold up when it's your turn. I've lost on the turn so many times even though I knew I was 93% ahead. But it's just 93% and not 100%. Especially frustrating in the late stages at the FT in a tournament. But that's poker: despite all the reads and tells you can pick up, you still need that little bit of luck on your side.

I haven't played live poker for a long time (probably 10+ years), and when I did, it was mostly with college friends (even playing for many hours a day for several years, haha) and not in dedicated poker venues.

So we didn't usually pay much attention to details beyond the information we already knew about each other.

Some poker books address this aspect, and some Instagram influencers offer very interesting insights into live games where they comment on the play and their reactions.

There's certainly a lot to explore, but it will require some practice and a lot of study.

I think I'd be in trouble and would try to have as many props on me as possible to cover my 'ticks'.

Besides that, and despite the low number of hands, I would go with the usual approach, which would be to count the frequency of actions and label them as certain types of players.

I also think that focusing on small details could lead us to classify them in a less accurate way, so if we were to use these resources, we would also involve frequencies for a better understanding of the opponents.

How often they play, what cards they play,ARe they really stupid or just acting

Basically, I try to observe the hands that are being played... the bet sizes, etc.

there are a few books that classify players very well....i think folks would benefit from readingpoker strategy alot more.

by a few orbits you can actually classify what type of player is what

Observing his actions, when he pays his hands and when he discards... and especially how he plays after his bets. This in a way helps me to read the villain.

When playing live, players will give you a shocking amount of information if you just ask them. I like to be social at the table, and usually through normal conversation you can figure out things like experience, play style, favorite/"lucky" cards or idiosyncrasies in their ranges.

nabmom said:

I go beyond using their actual game play (how often they are in a hand, are they "insta-raisers" or limpers, etc.). I also get impressions based on their age, clothing, whether or not they have headphones or sunglasses, how they manipulate their chips and hold their cards.

When you are playing live poker (whether a tournament or a cash game), what are some of the things you notice about your opponents that you use to get a reliable read on them? And how does that impact your read and how you play against them?

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I let them waste time and money and I play super tight and getting stronger and stronger.

just observe their body tells

Watching how a player enters and continues to play.

Hmm, I'm just reading their minds!🧘😂

I usually play pvt games and it's rarely someone's new comes, I'm already knows how's everyone's style of playing...

If it's not pvt games, I'm going to look at everything, but most important to me - if someone have to hide eyes behind dark glasses or beautiful jugular vein with some scarf of hoodie, watching have they take cards or chips (maybe little shaking hands moves) etc. how they act if they have some boom cards or it's just a bluff... 👽😁

hi folks,

really interesting question but i have to say nowadays live poker is rare nowadays so for me it is not so important to assessing other players at table.
When i play with friends and low buyin it isnt part of my strategy but online it is also important but more difficult because you can analyse who players react @table.
I think pre flop action and bet size gives you good information about players@ table, also if they are playing many hands.

The problem is broken down into two parts: live play, where we can see our opponents, and online, where we can only judge by the chat window and our opponent's betting patterns.Online. These guys rarely have any understanding of odds and pot odds, and prefer to believe that pocket aces should always win. Some of them also tilt quite easily.A simple, friendly chat between two players who often play together can be a clue. "How was the tournament yesterday?" or "How were your results this week?" These guys play often, and based on their questions and answers, you can infer their experience level.Multi-tabling is also an indicator of a certain skill and usually indicates a tight playing style. Anyone playing multiple tables simply doesn't have time to mess around with marginal hands. Take a little time to search the lobby and identify players playing at more than one table. If your opponent is playing three or more tables, it's worth adjusting your play accordingly.Thoughts for live play.How old are they? Are they married, and is their wife nearby? The answers to all these questions, along with their stack size, should give you a good idea of their playing style and skill level.Their behavior at the table is a good indicator of experience. How do they handle chips? Do they understand the mechanics of betting? Are they comfortable?All these answers will help you develop a more accurate profile of your opponent and will inevitably lead to winning their money. The more sophisticated the players seem, the more ways you can beat them. Physical tells are usually nonexistent online, but in live poker, they provide a wealth of information about your opponents.

Table presence and awareness are probably what most people miss, and probably we ourselves don't do it. Some players are completely locked into their phones or headphones and miss everything. Others are watching every hand, even when they’re not in it, and those players I give more credit to. If someone clearly knows what’s going on at the table, I’m less likely to try fancy stuff and more likely to just play solid ABC against them.

Their look : nervous, calm, quick look towards the chips. Face, expressing fury or some good emotions. I have to be a good psychologist.

Well for myself i really like to keep most of this info a secret but for some people all you have to do is watch the way they play and if you play with the same people for long enough you will see a pattern we all have tells. The problem is what the tell is like an unconscious movement ie: eye blinking finger tapping that sort of stuff. Now when playing online you have the chat betting patterns how long it takes to bet fold check could all be worth watching. Keeping notes is also a good way to have knowledge about other players and their playing habits.

I've played live against players a few times and it's really not that easy to read a particular player anymore. It's important to adapt to the game at the table and get in rhythm with their play. If you recognize a weak player or a jackass, a good option is to set traps for them - Players who play a lot of hands talk and you don't know what to expect.

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Betting patterns is the key for me especially based on position. Everything else I’ve found isn’t reliable

On GG where I usually play it already tracks basic stats like VIP and such. So I assign people into categories: tight, agressive and for highly skilled players regs.

More detailed plays I assign with a bigger amount of hands played, or when I see plays/tells that might be easy to spot in the future, for instance villain will always cbet 2/3rd pot.

I also pay a lot of attention to timing and behavior in different spots, for example if someone suddenly plays faster or slower under pressure. I watch how they react to losses too whether they get emotional, start playing looser or become too tight. Based on that I adjust my strategy like putting more pressure on weak or tilted players or going for more value against calling stations.

Like most people I notice appearance, I observe mannerisms and demeaner and try to decide if it genuine or fake. I watch their play , I look for unusual play in a given situation and I look for trends or habits they might have. I total I look for deviations from patterns they have established.

There are many criteria, but you have to start with the fact that it definitely takes some time.

Good topic. In live poker, I focus on timing changes, chip handling, and behavioral consistency. Sudden shifts — like taking longer before a big bet — often indicate strength, not weakness.

I also watch engagement levels: attentive players tend to think deeper, while distracted ones play more straightforward. These reads help me decide when to value bet thin, avoid bluffs, or apply pressure.

I play very tight when I don`t know the players, folding the first -3bets when I am out of position, watching how often they bet.
I look to BBs, whether they fold to contibets often, especially, whether small ones are enough to get them out.
And of course I rethink when all cards were seen, how they played strong cards and especially how ones played midpairs, small pairs, flush draws.. and how the players behaviour at the tables were in that moments