Hand reading
Hand reading is a skill that a poker player has to develop to increase his chances of winning, especially in high stakes games. Hand reading is a guess that a player makes about the hand of an opponent on the basis of previous hands and actions. A player should remember that which player raised and checked in the previous rounds and should observe the betting also closely. Another term used in strategies is Tell. ‘Tell is a change in the action of an opponent which can help the other player to modify his actions. By these signs, a player can avoid making mistakes; instead he induces the opponent to make a mistake. Opponent profiling is another skill which poker players have. In this the player observes tendencies of one’s opponent. A player can make guesses about whether the opponent has strong cards or weak cards depending on how he is playing. A ‘Table image’ of a player is the perception that everyone has of a player. By playing or making a move that’s very out of character, you can catch others off guard and they may make mistakes. There are two types of players; loose players and tight players. Loose players play more hands and generally continue even with weaker hands and thus they do not fold. On the other hand, tight players will play few hands and typically, they do no continue with weak hands and mostly fold. A trick like bluffing is not very effective on weak players as they are less likely to fold.