Many people struggle with this though. However, it really isn't as difficult as you might think. There are several "tricks" that I and many other poker pros use to read their hand right almost every time.
And it really is important to remember that you will never get it right every single time. Sometimes every single sign will point to a bluff, so you make the call and they turn over the nuts instead.
But I have used these strategies effectively for many years to read their hand right most of the time. So let's get started!
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1. Timing Tells
One of my favourite ways to put them on a hand is through timing tells. Most people do not realize but they are giving off subtle timing tells almost every time they play poker.
Most people aren't even aware of them. The pros are though. I am always paying heavy attention to them especially when I am playing online.
Here is the gist of it:
- Taking too long to act = nuts or bluff
- Acting too quickly = mediocre hand
When somebody is going into the tank for a decision this almost always means that they have a huge hand and they are trying to figure out the best way to play it. Or conversely, they have nothing and they are thinking about how to run a big bluff on me.
In other words, the strength of their hand is very black or white: nuts or nothing.
When somebody just calls me right away though (or bets almost instantly), this is often a dead tell that they have something decent but not amazing (i.e. middle pair, top pair, a draw).
And the reason why is because most people consider these middle strength hands to be an obvious call or a quick bet. In other words, there is nothing really important for them to think about.
How can you exploit this?
So there are many ways to exploit this. When they are taking way too long to make a fairly standard decision I will often just call if I have a decent made hand like top pair or a draw.
K♡Q♡
on K♧T♤4♡2♤4♢ for instance.
There is absolutely no point in raising here because they either have me crushed with AK, trips, a full house etc. Or they are just on some wild bluff and I obviously have them crushed.
Conversely though, if they are betting way too fast on a board like this you might want to consider turning some sort of weaker hand into a bluff on the flop, turn or river.
This is especially the case if they are the type of player who is capable of folding a decent hand like KJ here.
Because once again, it's all about the timing tell. When they act way too fast this tells me that they didn't think very much about what to do. And therefore this indicates to me that they probably don't have a really strong hand.
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2. Bet Sizing Tells
Bet sizing tells are another easy way that I and many other pros use to put somebody on a hand. Once again, most people don't even realize that they are doing it.
Here is a simple breakdown once again:
- Big bet sizing = mediocre hand
- Small bet sizing = nuts or bluff
In order to understand this better you need to know how small stakes players think. Many of them are highly superstitious and play according to emotion and recent results rather than logic and mathematics.
There is actually an entire section in Crushing the Microstakes entitled "Fish Psychology" if you want to learn more about how recreational players in particular think at the lower stakes.
So when they blast the pot on the flop with a big bet this often means a mediocre hand that they are trying to "protect" such as top pair or even an overpair.
However, when they bet small this often means a nut hand (i.e. two pair, a set, trips) that they don't want to "scare" you away with. A small bet can also mean a total bluff too.
Keep in mind that this is not the logical or profitable way to play poker. I am just describing how losing poker players think.
From a strict GTO perspective your bet sizes should always be the same no matter what the strength of your hand is.
And if you are playing at the micros an exploitative approach is even more profitable. Unsurprisingly this involves doing the exact opposite of what the losing players do.
3. The Big River Raise Out of Nowhere
Another one of my favorite tells that small stakes players give off is the big river raise out of nowhere.
Many lower stakes players like to sandbag (slowplay) their big hands because they saw their favorite high stakes pro on TV do this. Or because once again, they are afraid of "scaring you away."
And again, this is not the logical or profitable way to play poker. This is just how bad poker players think which is the only thing that matters here.
So they check/call you all the way until the river and then hum and haw for a few moments before putting in the big raise out of nowhere.
This is so transparent especially on a dry board like:
K♢K♤7♧4♡2♢
There are no draws that got there. They are basically representing the nuts or nothing. And with weak passive bad players at the micros, it is almost always the former here.
So if you were value betting your TT for instance here on the river, you can safely fold knowing that they probably flopped trip kings.
4. The Turn Mini-Raise
The turn mini-raise is another dead giveaway of strength from most small stakes players. This is another way that they like to try and increase the size of the pot without scaring you away.
And it fools many people. After all, how can you fold your AA to just a mini-raise on the turn?
What you need to remember though is that if they have what they are representing (two pair or better), then you are drawing very thin.
Here's an example:
So you have AA and you get mini-raised on the turn on this board. The problem is that if they have two pair or better (like they often will), then you have just 18% equity in the pot.
That's bad.
And what that really means is that you are just throwing away money by calling the turn raise even though the raise is only the minimum amount.
Don't fall for this little trick of theirs. Just laugh and throw your hand away especially against passive players with low a low aggression factor on your HUD.
Trust me, you will be saving yourself a lot of money in the long run.
5. Emotional Play
One of the biggest things that separates poker pros from all the amateurs is emotion based play. It is not that pros don't tilt, it is just that they do it far less often and it is nowhere near as obvious.
When a recreational player is losing though, it often becomes readily apparent that they are steaming. You may have heard the term "a fish on tilt" before.
This is because there is no more profitable situation for you to be in.
All of the sudden they will start playing way more hands than usual, betting more often and sometimes getting visibly upset in the chat online or through their facial features and demeanour if you play live.
The pros are paying attention to all of this.
When I sit down to play poker the first thing I always do is make a note of who the weak players are. I am looking for all of the typical signs of bad poker players.
After I identify them I am also paying very close attention to if they are winning or losing.
If they are winning, then I expect them to play a straightforward game and not try to bluff me very often. When people are winning they tend to want to "protect" their winnings and play it safer.
Again, not logical or profitable, but this is how recreational players in particular think about the game of poker.
When they are losing however, I expect them to take many more risks by playing weaker hands than normal and running really bad and often transparent bluffs.
So when I know a fish is steaming I will often make really light call-downs with a hand like top pair no kicker or even middle pair. If they have been winning though and they bet strong, I will just throw a hand like this away.
6. HUD Based Tells
Anyone who reads my blog posts or my books knows that I am a heavy proponent of using a HUD online, when you can.
Your heads up display simply gives you key information on how your opponents play that can often make it much easier to know what to do in a difficult spot.
In a recent video I talked about the most important 12 HUD stats you should be using.
One of them is Preflop 3Bet%.
For instance, if somebody at the micros re-raises me preflop then I can immediately look at their Preflop 3Bet% stat to get a better idea of what type of hand they likely have.
Here is a rough guide:
So if I have a hand like AQ for instance and I raise it up preflop and somebody re-raises me, I am going to react very differently depending on their 3Bet%.
Versus the player with a 3Bet% of 2, I am probably going to throw my hand away. Yes you read that right, I will fold. And the reason why is because AQ is garbage versus a 2% range.
Versus a player with a 3Bet% of 10 though, I will be calling at the very least and sometimes 4Betting for value as well.
For instance, if somebody at the micros re-raises me preflop then I can immediately look at their Preflop 3Bet% stat to get a better idea of what type of hand they likely have.
Here is a rough guide:
- 1-3 = Nuts
- 4-6 = Strong with a few bluffs
- 7-10 = Quite a few bluffs, slightly out of line
- 11+ = Way too many bluffs, totally out of line
So if I have a hand like AQ for instance and I raise it up preflop and somebody re-raises me, I am going to react very differently depending on their 3Bet%.
Versus the player with a 3Bet% of 2, I am probably going to throw my hand away. Yes you read that right, I will fold. And the reason why is because AQ is garbage versus a 2% range.
Versus a player with a 3Bet% of 10 though, I will be calling at the very least and sometimes 4Betting for value as well.
If you want to learn more about HUDs, this is the best poker HUD used by online poker pros these days.
While I am mostly an online player, physical tells play a big part of reading somebody's hand if you are playing live poker.
The most classic signs are acting nervous and all of a sudden saying very little. While some pros are capable of giving off "reverse tells," most of the time with an amateur this means a strong hand.
On the flip side, when they are acting nonchalantly and very talkative, this often means that they are bluffing. They are trying to give off a false sense of strength.
This is why you will see pros often try to talk to their opponent and engage them during a big river decision for instance. They are fishing for information.
My suggestion is that you try to act the same no matter if you are bluffing or if you have the nuts. My favorite approach is just to calmly stare straight ahead and say absolutely nothing.
You never want to give away any free information at the poker table. And with live poker, practice makes perfect. Be aware of the physical tells that other people give off and try to eliminate any that you may have.
There are many ways to put somebody on a hand at the poker table and it doesn't require that you learn a bunch of advanced poker strategy.
7. Physical Tells
While I am mostly an online player, physical tells play a big part of reading somebody's hand if you are playing live poker.
The most classic signs are acting nervous and all of a sudden saying very little. While some pros are capable of giving off "reverse tells," most of the time with an amateur this means a strong hand.
On the flip side, when they are acting nonchalantly and very talkative, this often means that they are bluffing. They are trying to give off a false sense of strength.
This is why you will see pros often try to talk to their opponent and engage them during a big river decision for instance. They are fishing for information.
My suggestion is that you try to act the same no matter if you are bluffing or if you have the nuts. My favorite approach is just to calmly stare straight ahead and say absolutely nothing.
You never want to give away any free information at the poker table. And with live poker, practice makes perfect. Be aware of the physical tells that other people give off and try to eliminate any that you may have.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways to put somebody on a hand at the poker table and it doesn't require that you learn a bunch of advanced poker strategy.
Some of my favorite ways to put someone on a hand in online poker are to watch out for timing and bet sizing tells.
You also want to be careful of turn and river raises at the lower stakes in particular. Most players at these limits are very passive and therefore they are representing a very strong hand when they do this.
You also want to always be aware of the recreational players in particular and whether they are winning or losing.
You also want to be careful of turn and river raises at the lower stakes in particular. Most players at these limits are very passive and therefore they are representing a very strong hand when they do this.
You also want to always be aware of the recreational players in particular and whether they are winning or losing.
They will often play emotional and make many more bluffs if they are losing and play safer and straightforward if they are winning.
Lastly, if you are playing online, make sure you look out for any HUD based tells. Many low stakes players have badly unbalanced stats which almost give away the strength of their hand.
And finally, if you play live it is important to understand physical tells and work on not giving any off yourself.
Lastly, if you are playing online, make sure you look out for any HUD based tells. Many low stakes players have badly unbalanced stats which almost give away the strength of their hand.
And finally, if you play live it is important to understand physical tells and work on not giving any off yourself.
If you want to know my complete strategy for beating the lower stakes games for $1000+ a month, make sure you grab a copy of my free poker cheat sheet.
Let me know in the comments below how you put them on a hand at the poker tables. Do you have any other tips or tricks?
Let me know in the comments below how you put them on a hand at the poker tables. Do you have any other tips or tricks?
