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Treat betting as a conversation
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At the start of a hand the blind bets and antes (if
used) go into the pot to be played for. If someone at the table wants
to win those chips, they declare their interest by an initial bet.
That is the beginning of the conversation.
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With the exact knowledge of your pocket cards and the board cards, you
will only occasionally be certain that you hold the best poker hand. To
help you make more correct plays, treat the betting as a conversation.
If everyone speaks honestly in the betting conversation
A player folding tells; "I have bad cards," "no position to play
them," or "that bet is too rich for my hand."
A small bet says; "I have a weak hand," or "my hand needs to improve."
A medium bet declares; "I already have a good hand that may still
improve."
A large bet states; "I have a strong hand which may also get
stronger."
A raise, re-raise or calling a large bet speaks loudly; "I have a hand
that I am willing to take you on with."
Of course not all players are honest with what their betting tells
A small bet may be saying; "I haven't reeeeeeally been dealt A-A."
A medium bet may let on; "every time I am one on one with you and do
this, you fold."
A large raise or re-raise may intend to tell; "regardless of our
cards, my stack compared to yours in this situation means you can't
call" or, "come and have a go it you think you’re hard enough."
Just calling a large bet may have the player advising; "I've got
chips to bluff with."
Sometimes the betting conversation will have double meanings and we are not
even talking about split pot games... man those conversations get confusing.
If you spot a trend
Someone who is often weak in their betting may be articulating anything from;
"let me have cheap cards with which to beat you" to, "will you
walk into my parlour? Said the Spider to the Fly."
Someone who continually makes large bets or raises may be saying anything from;
"I've read the books, seen the coaching DVD’s and this is all I
learned" through, "I have a large poker bankroll and playing at these
stakes is nothing to me" to, "I have a premium hand again and again...
and again."
Their aggressive play may also say; "I've seen a weakness in a player or the
table that I am going to exploit."
So… learn the language
Initially, keep things simple. Pay attention to the two players to your left, then
the two to your right; most of the hands you will be in will be with these players.
Try to find out if they have a natural loud voice no matter what they are saying,
or if it is the quiet ones you have to watch. Once done, begin listening to the
others.
You should understand that the betting conversation may be less honest due to a
tournament situation necessitating the odd lie.
There is a language in poker betting; as you learn it you will make the correct
decision more often. Making correct decisions is the key to successful poker.
One way to learn the language is to earwig on other player's conversations by
selecting a poker tournament in its closing stages. Listen to the betting when
two or more medium sized stacks start talking; see if you can follow the
conversation and guess what the players are holding.
When a small stacked player puffs their chest out; listen to the lilliputational
squeak of "all-in" as they try desperately to steal the blinds or double
through. The bigger stack with an uncompromising ten times re-raise may declare to
the rest of the table, "back off, this one is mine."
As you learn the language
You will find there are four types of poker conversationalists.
1. Those who do not bother to learn the language; these are easy to beat. Any player
who has not learnt the language will not have learnt that a good looking hand can
turn bad and are usually easy to trap.
2. Those who are cunning linguists; skilful talkers are fun to play against. If they
outplay you or just get better cards, then enjoy the game; see what you can learn from
them. The difficulty is in understanding who can talk well and who just talks big.
3. Those who refuse to listen; they can be annoying, your way to beat these players will
depend on how large their stack is compared to yours. Sometimes you can shout until you
are blue in the face but will go unheard. Do not try to trap these people; just play
your best cards against them.
4. And then there is you; ah yes... you. You pose a question when necessary, listen to
the answers, and are always honest with your betting statements. Yeah right!
Finally
If you have visited a foreign country you may picked up a few basic words; but you damn
sure will have learned their currency, because no one likes being ripped off paying
too much for what turns out to be nothing.
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