DIFFERENT BEHAIVOUR OF A PLAYER

If you find yourself in a game where there's an inordinate amount of raises on the flimsiest of cards, then that's a sure sign that you're playing against talent superior to yours and you should get out.

There is, however, one popular method of detecting poor players that I think is overrated and not that reliable. It is the method of watching to see how many or what proportion of pots he voluntarily enters to see the flop.

The conventional wisdom says that if he plays very few hands besides the blinds then he is a tight player and if he sees the flop with half of his hands then he is a loose player. This line of reasoning is probably better than no information at all but it can often lead you to the wrong conclusion.

With that many different hands out there it is possible, and often likely, that you can't find a playable hand in the first one hundred hands you're dealt. This means that when you see a player enter the game and not players hand for three hours, it's not always because he actually is a tight player. In this case, you should evaluate the quality of his play based on the actual cards that you see him turn over at the ends of his hands.

Mine, just by observing the players, just who you would like to play against and who you wouldn't. Here is a list of players you would like to play against:

Players You Want to Play Against

1. Off-duty Casino Employees

Skill at dealing poker does not equate to skill at playing poker. Dealing three hundred hands of poker a day does not teach you how to play poker. I've seen the magician levitate the girl a hundred times but I don't know how to do it. And "thank you" to all you poker dealers who bought a copy of this article.

2. Talkative. Loud, Smiling. Cheerful Players

If they're doing all that, they can't possibly be devoting enough mental energy to the game to beat the player who is concentrating on the game.

3. Beautiful Women

It's been my experience that good looking women haven't devoted enough time and effort to learn the game. They almost always are playing because they're waiting to do something else. Besides, they serve as a good distraction for the other men in the game.

4. Players with Tattoos

Anyone dumb enough to have them self tattooed probably won't exhibit a lot of intelligence at the poker table. They will unknowingly follow your lead at the poker table.

5. Players who Drink Alcohol

A player who's been drinking will start to play more carelessly, bet and call when he shouldn't, bluff when he shouldn't and generally play too many hands. And he'll usually stay and play and drink until he's broke.

6. Players Who Expose Cards

There are players who just aren't careful enough to protect their hands. If you meet one, I recommend you always try to sit on his left. You'll always know when to fold, call or rise. Also, you should try to look at your hand as soon as you can so you can decide if you intend to play it or not. If you're not going to play, don't make an effort to spy his cards. There's no reason to try to find out his hand if you're not going to play. That little bit of extra eye movement or slight turn of the head on your part could give away what you're doing. There's no need to risk it if you're not going to play your hand. And you'd be surprised to see how often it doesn't help to know what your opponent's cards are anyway.