Which poker Super-power?

Recently I've been wondering, which would a poker player find to be more valuable in the game, the ability to know what your opponents' cards, through the back-end and what not, or instead the ability to know what the board was going to be before it's dealt.


when you think about it it's kind of a tough decision. If you know he's weak, you could push him off of a hand, but if you know you're going to suck out, or avoid a bad beat, then you could win a big pot. I know the former may be the more obvious response, but think about it a little.

I take board for the most obvious reason. If you know what's coming, then I play all in or fold. easy squeasy

knowing your opponents cards tells you when you can beat them and when you cant and you can know when you can make them fold

knowing what the board will give you doesnt help a lot because just cuz you see youll hit top pair doesnt tell you what your opponent will hit on that same board

Exactly...

take the hole cards power everytime please.

i would need to know all five cards before i chose. i want to know what my opponent is playing, and act accordingly. just to know the flop is not enough to over set the knowledge of a players hand.

Wait, can I buy these powers somewhere???

You can buy reading your opponent's hole cards at various prices, and vast amounts of your lifespan. It's worth it though

The object of poker is to make your opponent do something he wouldn't do if he knew what your cards were (of course many people are happy to take -EV lines, but ideally this is how it would work). Seeing your opponent's cards eliminates that problem for you and is more helpful than the board.

i remember making a thread about this exact question ages ago. the answer is holecards and it isn't particularly close.

edit: found it!

It all depends on the opponent, as well you read it ...

care to explain?

I guess great minds think alike

I wanted to use a poll, but I couldn't figure it out. Sorry for hijacking your idea

Eh, I wasn't complaining - the thread is a couple of years old after all.

Knowing one set of cards or another isn't really a super power. The power would have to be a specific, universal one - knowing what will happen in the near future, some sort of xray vision to allow you to see through cards, or mind reading.

Fortune telling would have better applications such as roulette, sportsbooks, stock market, etc. I'm not sure how mind reading would work since the average poker brain would alternately have a lot of things going through it or nothing going through it while the player tries to suppress their tells. That leaves seeing the underside of cards which could also have applications in blackjack or maybe something like baccarat.

I've spent way too much time thinking about this.

of course knowing the board is better. I can have aces and he could have 23 and be a donkey and call and the board hit 223

Now I could have 23 and he has aa and I know the board is coming 223 I can go all in and get called. duh

ill take knowing my opponents hole cards every time of every day lol

too bad it aint never gonna happen dammit

I personally would take the hole cards because I play small ball and win 80% of hands and basically take down every tournament.

Stu Ungar would take seeing the board because he already knows people's hole cards.