Let\u2019s take a look at the most effective ways to read your opponents in all types of poker, from live dealer poker<\/a> to video poker<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter if you\u2019re playing live or online poker<\/a>, the most important part of reading your opponents is putting them on a range. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u2018range\u2019 is the various possible hands they could hold, so putting them on a range means trying to figure out what those hands could be. As the hand plays out and your opponent makes more decisions and takes more actions, you can use this information to narrow down their range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a\nvital skill to master. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But instead\nof thinking about ranges, many players try to guess the exact hand of their\nopponents on the river. This approach doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good players don\u2019t make blind guesses; they use a methodical approach. Even though it requires a lot of practice, you can learn to put your opponent on a range by following these four simple steps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to put your opponent on an accurate range of cards by the\nriver, you should start your work preflop<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first\nthing you need to consider is your opponent\u2019s position<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They will be playing completely different hands from under the gun (UTG) and button (BTN), so it\u2019s vital to assign them a realistic range.A player who is raising from the first position will not have 63s in their range, so is very unlikely to have strong holdings on the flop with 633. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a player\non the BTN can easily have such hands, and way more other 3x holdings, so you\nneed to play differently against these ranges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing the\nposition is not enough. You also have to identify your opponent\u2019s type<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If they\u2019re passive, they could be playing just 15% of hands from the cutoff (CO), while an aggressive opponent could be opening 35% or even more. The same thought process should be applied for other situations when someone limps, or you face a 3-bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you evaluate\nyour opponent’s position and playing style<\/strong>, you can already make an educated\nguess of what hands they could be playing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next\nstep is quite straightforward. Using information from the flop action, you can narrow\ndown their range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can learn what your opponent should do in any given situation by studying game theory optimal (GTO)<\/a> strategy and then adjust these ranges based on your observations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This will\nhelp you understand what hands your opponent should be checking or betting and\nthen reduce their likely holdings accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To narrow down the range even further, you should look at all the other information available to you. Things like your opponent\u2019s poker stats<\/a>, bet sizing, or even physical tells can say a lot about their holdings. The table dynamics will give you a ton of additional insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a huge part of learning how to play poker<\/a>, so we\u2019ll come back to it later on in the article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like\nyou did in the second step for the flop play, you can continue reducing your\nopponent\u2019s possible holdings based on their actions and community cards on the\nturn and river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s worth\nsaying that lots of people have a similar playing style and share similarities that\nare easy to notice and exploit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An example\nwould be that they don\u2019t adjust to the situation. If you notice someone checking\ntop pair with a weak kicker on the flop, they\u2019re very likely to take the same\naction with similar holdings in other hands as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So after\nseeing it once, you\u2019ll be able to remove these holdings from their range in similar\nspots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\nquickly get a feel of player tendencies and use this information until you\nnotice that your particular opponent adjusts their play, and then react\naccordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning\nto put your opponent on a range instead of guessing a specific hand is the best\nway to read other players.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n However,\nyou can make even better decisions if you take into consideration all the additional\ninformation<\/strong> available to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Given that\nyou don\u2019t physically see your opponent when playing online, there are only a\nfew things you can consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You should\nclosely monitor bet sizing<\/strong> and how long your opponent takes to make decisions<\/strong>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start\nwith the first one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\nprobably the best indication of your opponent’s strength, this information is\nmassively underused in games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Players are\nvery unlikely to change bet sizing and their betting patterns, so if you notice\nhow they play their strong and weak hands, and what sizing they use in\ndifferent spots, it could be a serious tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though\nthis is very player dependent, here are two common situations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if\nyou see someone using truly big sizing, especially on dry board, they are more\nlikely to be value betting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most\nplayers understand that your range is polarized in these situations, where you\neither have a strong hand that is going to call no matter what or a weak one,\nwhich will be folding even to a smaller bet – so it makes no point to over bet\nas a bluff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These are\njust guidelines but could be a good starting point when observing your\nopponents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many\nplayers leave a lot of valuable information on the table by not considering the\ntiming of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some\nactions can be a very good indication of your opponent\u2019s hand strength:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It goes without\nsaying that this could change depending on the players, so you shouldn\u2019t base\nyour decision on this information alone but instead consider it along with\nother information<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover,\nsome players may try to fake these tells and act the opposite, so observe your\nopponent and be open to adjusting your strategy<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there\nare only a few ways to read your opponents when playing online, you can get a\nlot of additional information in live games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That being\nsaid, there\u2019s not much difference between online and live games regarding sizing\nand timing tells, so the same logic applies as covered in the online section. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are a lot of other factors to consider that I\u2019ll split into two different parts \u2013 physical and verbal tells<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Most Important\nPart: Putting Your Opponents On A Range<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: \nAnalyze preflop actions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Narrow down the range based on flop\naction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Evaluate additional information<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Keep reducing their possible holdings\non the turn and river<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How To Read Opponents in Online Poker Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Person](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/online_poker-1024x768.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. Look at bet sizing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/strong>Players are unlikely to bet small as a bluff. Of course, they can do that with medium-strength hands, but you will rarely see complete air<\/a> when facing such a bet. For the most part, they are simply trying to see a cheap showdown. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>This is very player dependent but more often than not people try to choose over bets with strong holdings. This shouldn\u2019t be applied against regulars who balance their ranges. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n2. Observe how much time they spend making decisions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n
Almost always an indication of a weak hand. It shows that your opponent didn\u2019t have to spend any time to think through the decision, which is very unlikely to happen with a strong holding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Can indicate strength, except for a c-bet. When a player instantly decides to continuation bet, they\u2019re less likely to have a strong holding, but in most other cases you should be aware of this information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Most of the time it indicates that your opponent has a medium-strength hand or a draw, and they want to see another card without even thinking about raising or folding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Very unlikely to have a strong holding. From my experience, a bet in this situation will take down the most, the majority of the time. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>This is very strong. I rarely see players bluffing with this line, and the reason they take more time is to appear weak, so you shouldn\u2019t be fooled by this action. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Generally indicates more strength. We can follow the same logic as in the previous point that players tend to take more time to look weaker and encourage another bet from you. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nHow To Read Opponents In Live Poker Games<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Physical Tells<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Physical\ntells that indicate strength<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Person](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/poker_chips-1024x768.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Person](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/poker_tells-1024x768.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n