Assessing the Competition
Most knowledgeable, seasoned poker players will agree that table selection is critical if one wishes to be a consistent winner on the green felt. Table selection is the ability to accurately assess the skill level of the seated players at a particular table—that and identifying the game’s rhythm best mesh with your approach. Evaluating the skill level of seated players is most commonly accomplished by regulars being very familiar with other patrons in their favorite card emporium. But how would one understand the skill levels of strangers if you’re playing in a venue for the first time and are unfamiliar with any of the other players?
We’ve all heard the adage: “If after the first half hour of play, you can’t pick out the sucker at the table, then it’s you!” To assure ourselves this will not be the case, we need to work on our observation skills and assess each player’s strengths and weaknesses at the poker table. Studying your opponents is critical to winning play and will do much more than guide you in decisions by understanding their tendencies. It will also tell you if you should stay in a particular game or move along to find something softer. If I can’t prove to myself by observing my opponents’ mistakes that I’m seated in an exploitable match, I begin looking for a table change. Why would anyone want to play against opponents who do not make mistakes? Exploiting your opponents’ mistakes is where your profit comes from!
What specifically should you be looking for to begin assessing the competition? The first order of business is to get your head into the game and forget the ballgame on TV, forget telling the latest joke you just heard, and forget flirting with the cute cocktail waitress. Those distractions prevent you from your main objective, which is getting down to work and studying your opponents. Watch all hands at the showdown to determine who is playing what kind of hand from what position and how. Did they raise, check-raise, limp in, or check and call to the river? Determine which players tend to get out of line, which are not growing when they clearly should be, or are weak/tight calling stations. Please pay particular attention to the betting patterns to determine which players like to slow play, try to isolate another opponent, push under pairs, defend their blinds religiously, will cold call raises, and will regularly fold to a raise unless they possess the nuts. Sounds like work? Sure, it is – but why are you in this game? If it is to have fun, maybe blow a few bucks or maybe get lucky and win a few dollars, then perhaps it is too much work. Hey, there is a legion of recreational players to whom profit is not the main objective. There is nothing wrong if that is the group you fall into. However, if you’re involved in turning a profit and do so regularly, consider it work but make it second nature as it must be done.
If, after closely assessing your competition, you cannot honestly say to yourself that you can identify with actual examples that at least twenty percent of the table is well below your level of understanding of the game and, therefore, less skillful, then it might be time to move along. If you make this kind of assessment part of your regular regimen, you should always play games in which you have an edge. There is another adage that would support the need for this type of in-depth analysis of your opponents. There are two ways of winning consistently at the poker table. One is by one’s brilliance and the other is through your opponents’ mistakes. The latter is the more reliable. If, after several laps around the table, you cannot identify any specific mistakes made by any of your opponents – then maybe you are the sucker! Don’t delude yourself into thinking that you’re just as good as all the other poker players because you’ll need better cards to win, even if that’s true. You need an edge that comes from your superior play and your opponent’s mistakes. If you can’t prove to yourself through specific examples that you have an advantage, then you should move on.
So far, we’ve discussed assessing the other players seated when you arrived. What if a new player joins the game once you believe you’ve got a pretty good bead on each opponent? The first mistake some players make regarding a new, fresh face in their everyday surroundings is that they assume the new player must not be very experienced or knowledgeable. The second mistake is to quickly place the new player on a particular spot on the knowledge/experience curve by some preconceived notion of a stereotype based upon how that player is dressed, what jewelry is being worn, or to which gender, ethnicity, or age group they belong. I believe these assumptions are nonsense. Instead of making wild assumptions, you should begin collecting evidence.
Before you begin to assess the new player’s actual perceived playing skill, there are some things to notice. Poker tells you to come in many forms, so observe how he buys in and for how much. A short buy or a full rack or more? Watch how the chips are handled, which can speak volumes about how much time has been spent around the game. Of course, chip dexterity alone should not indicate an opponent’s skill. I’ve seen players who could riffle two stacks of ten chips perfectly but couldn’t play a lick! Observing how this new player elects to post relative to the button’s position would be best. If he can’t wait patiently for several hands to enter at a more optimum time, what does that say about his discipline relative to starting hand requirements? Once he has been dealt a hand, observe how he handles his cards and when he looks at them, which is a solid indicator of how much experience he possesses. One should observe his opponents’ possible reactions to their cards, not missing that opportunity by focusing on his cards. This leads me to my favorite test of a good player. Watch his eyes – what is he watching? Is he concentrating on his cards or watching the other players? Watching what another player manages is a great indicator of his level of poker awareness.
The days of assuming a new face is just a mere “tourist” who has, until this very moment, only played for matchsticks on the kitchen table are over. Poker has exploded everywhere, and some very competent players also come from everywhere. They come in all sizes, ages, genders, and walks of life, so don’t make silly assumptions. Please don’t assume that the new face is a fish to be taken advantage of, only to find out he’s a shark who has swallowed your stack.
You must constantly assess your competition to understand where you stand in the lineup. If you determine that you’re not a favorite to take down the money, don’t fall victim to “chair glue” but rather get up and find a softer, more profitable game. Work hard to assess your competition, and the process will become second nature and positively impact your bottom line. These tips were aimed at live gameplay. Evaluating your online poker opponents is more difficult, but many other tools are available, and I will leave their reviews to other Pokerology.com contributors to assess. How I view it – it’s your money, and if it isn’t worth your best effort to defend it and increase the odds of adding more to it, that’s your business. Shuffle up and deal!
