Free Poker Player Manipulation Example
You may play $1000 Buy in, you may play play free poker but what you do not do is just play your cards. You are also playing with or rather you are attempting to influence the other players at the table so that they do what you want. Your objective of course being that they donate to your stack!
Playing the player has 2 sides. In regard to your play you are trying to read the other players, read their play style, figure their emotions and drivers and from here play your cards optimally.
On the opposing player side you are trying to play them to increase the degree of error with which they classify your style of play, motivations and actions.
To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.
BLINDS 50k/100k
A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)
K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn't have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.
From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.
FLOP 4d-5h-3d
B bets 535k
Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?
A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call
Here, A thought that B's bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A's belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?
Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.
At that point, A gambled that B has nothing. He could also have assessed that if B had something and goes all in later then he can move out fast. So he raised to try B's strength.
B folds
B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B's hand was. But B's cards were not strong enough.
Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.
Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.
We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player.
Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.
Conclusion
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables when you play free poker.
Most players will never go this sort of effort to learn how to play poker, they just prefer to use basic ideas and hope for luck - and if you rely on luck then luck indeed will rule your game and you will never amount to much of a poker player.
So, if you do have poker ambition, set aside lots of time to learn how to play poker well. Strategy such as we discuss in this article is a key part of things. Make sure you think about what you are playing and why and how that may affect other players perceptions of you and your hand - and then try and falsify it to your advantage!
You may play $1000 Buy in, you may play play free poker but what you do not do is just play your cards. You are also playing with or rather you are attempting to influence the other players at the table so that they do what you want. Your objective of course being that they donate to your stack!
Playing the player has 2 sides. In regard to your play you are trying to read the other players, read their play style, figure their emotions and drivers and from here play your cards optimally.
On the opposing player side you are trying to play them to increase the degree of error with which they classify your style of play, motivations and actions.
To learn how to do this lets look at an example of playing the player in action from a WSOP event.
BLINDS 50k/100k
A has Ac-Qh raises 350k
B is on big blind, has Kc-Js, calls 230k (Pot 880k)
K-J is usually a bit weak to call a raise. Moreover, B doesn't have position over A, but he calls because he wants A to guess.
From the big blind, generally we just call because we are on a discount, so we might have 6-5, 10-8, and a bunch of other indeterminate hands which require guessing.
FLOP 4d-5h-3d
B bets 535k
Because small cards fell, B now wants A to think that his call from the big blind hit the Flop, and that his hand may well include those indeterminate hands like 5-4, 8-5, or even 6-7, or two Diamonds. But what did A think?
A raises to 1.8m (Pot 3.215m)
B needs 1.265m to call
Here, A thought that B's bet was just a continuation bet, and with small cards falling A's belief is reinforced that B is just trying to finish the hand. How would small cards likely hit B?
Additionally, B has been playing aggressively all night (stealing pots, etc.) so B could be betting with something (which is not likely with small cards falling) or with nothing. B could be playing just about anything, especially from the big blind.
At that point, A gambled that B has nothing. He could also have assessed that if B had something and goes all in later then he can move out fast. So he raised to try B's strength.
B folds
B folds, because, indeed, he has nothing, and if he calls, he will be committed to continue. Had B moved all-in then it will be a good all-in, for A could still be guessing at this point what B's hand was. But B's cards were not strong enough.
Also, he folds, because A raised from late position, which allows for a wider range of hands, like even 5-4 or two Diamonds.
Poker, indeed, is not simply a game of good hands versus good hands. Experienced poker players will win with bad hands under the right conditions.
We give credit to B for first trying to win with a bad hand, a good effort to play he player.
Unfortunately for B, A did the playing the player task superbly too, having noted previous actions and motivations and related that to current con text and probability and so played out to win well.
Conclusion
It takes time to learn how to play poker online or offline at a level above the unthinking, uneducated "chip flinging" seen at many tables when you play free poker.
Most players will never go this sort of effort to learn how to play poker, they just prefer to use basic ideas and hope for luck - and if you rely on luck then luck indeed will rule your game and you will never amount to much of a poker player.
So, if you do have poker ambition, set aside lots of time to learn how to play poker well. Strategy such as we discuss in this article is a key part of things. Make sure you think about what you are playing and why and how that may affect other players perceptions of you and your hand - and then try and falsify it to your advantage!
