Gathering Information on Your Poker Opponents
The value of getting data on your Poker opponents during the game cannot be overestimated. Yet the fact is most individuals have limited means of getting it. In order to stay ahead of the competition, information gathering will be a necessity.
For example, most players will tell you that the only way that you can get hold of information on your opponent will be by reading them after playing a few hands. That it not quite correct; although it is true that you will get a lot of info from Poker player reading, there are ways that you can attain knowledge about your prospective opponent even before a hand is dealt.
You can start gathering facts abut a player the moment he enters the card room. Look at the kind of money he has. Casual Poker players bring in $20 dollar bills stuffed in their wallets. However, a serious player always plays with hundred dollar denominations. Another thing that you can look out for is the manner in which the player exchanges his money for the chips.
Most new players will show some hesitancy to part with their money, and often hold on to it for a while. A long time Poker player, on the other hand, will hardly give it a thought or look.
At this point you can also gather info concerning that player's bank roll. If the person buying is short or below the max buy in, that is a clear sign that the player will be competing at a level above his bank roll and is new to the game. Of course, if you see someone pulling a couple of thousand dollars, then the intention is clear; that individual will be playing a lot of Poker and is serious about it.
As the new player sits down, observe how he handles the chip stack he has just bought in. a tell tale sign is that if he is unwilling to stack them 10 chips higher, then it is probably his first time to a live Poker room and does not want to be embarrassed by having the chips fall down. Veteran players, thought can easily put up 20 or more.
Something else that you can consider is how well the player is acquainted with the personnel and the other Poker players. However, knowing the waitresses and chip runners by their first names is no indication of a shark. After all, a lot of the fish are also regulars. But it is another piece of information that you can pick up and find useful when making notes on a player.
As can be seen, there are several ways that one can attain information on other players even before the game has begun. Most Poker players are simply content to just sit back and wait for their opponents to come and play, but as the fact has shown, you can get more data, and more advantage, by gathering information about your opponent.
Add what you know to the reads that you will get to do later, and you will have the edge to the pot.