Reading opponents

So here is my question..
As a rookie i find myself calling Raises with what i think is the best hand..
only to lose my shirt @ showdown because i cant read opponents...
Does any1 have any advice on reading people online?
Thanks in advaNCE

Look for betting patterns and what type of player they are. Are they aggressive? passive? Do they check a lot? Numbers on programs like PokerTracker or HoldemManager help understand a players playing style which goes a long way to making reads.

to read players online is much more difficult than live but you can read the style. how plays someone. you can watch and collect information.

yeah online play is basicaly odds calculating, but sometime if ur at a table long enough you can recognize someone betting patterns. its just experience really

I also have problems online trying to read ppls hand.. especially ppl that are all over the place... the biggest problem i run into is in MTTs.. by the time i learn how the table plays i get moved... really really makes me mad... then i have to start all over and try to learn everyone... sometimes i have notes on a player and it helps, but ive noticed a lot of ppl sign up for multiple accts and then i dont have my notes... any suggestions on the problems i seem to run into w/ switching tables and notes???

Get yourself some software with a HUD. This has helped me immensely. Even though I don't have a large number of hands to go by it has gotten me out of some tough spots. I also found that as I was moved in an MTT I saw some players for the second time.

if u have trouble reading ppl in mtts tournys switch to sngos read as much as u can then when u read sngs go to mtts with what u have learned but it s not easy play lots of sngs u ll see what i mean gl

I read a really good tip from Wasicka at Full Tilt. He emphasized the need to take notes. Heck, I admit, I'm a lazy player, and I don't know how to read people, nor do I have the attention span to read people. You can still do all right in the long run if you play solid, but those few moments where a little information could've helped can greatly increase your overall winnings. Anyways, the tip was to include the date when you take a note of a player. Sometimes, you see patterns, but sometimes they screw you over because the person finally catches a monster hand. The significance of the date is to get enough observations so when you meet that player again, and you see the same pattern, you can mark for sure that that note is consistent, and that in the early future, those notes are reliable. So don't observe a pattern once, twice, or even three times and think that you got the person's playing habits down. Also, if the date of your note is old, don't assume the player's habits hasn't changed. Also, keep in mind if the person is simply aggressive or wreckless. If you think the person is a bluffer who will bluff all the way, then you can call a reraise from him/her. If the person is simply aggressive, don't call a reraise. Although this person likes to bluff with a big bet, this person also knows how to fold or reraise to trap a person.

WurlyQ is write. You should need a program to read internet players. Its very hard to see who are the aggressors, the limpers, check-raisers, loose, tight and etc... Try pokeroffice.. it might do you good.

play great starting hands, hopefully in position, you may have to wait for good hands but when you get them. play them hard and make the other guy make the decisions.
if you are constantly having to decide you are behind, out of position, or checking and calling too much. take the lead make them make the decisions.

Hand reading is something that will improve with experience, so play as much as possible.
The first clues can be found in the position a player is sitting in, the earlier the position the better the hand needed to call pre-flop, then consider the amount your villain bet or called pre-flop. Now you should be able to judge the range of hands they may have and all before the flop is even seen.
On the next betting rounds you can get more information, testing with a small bet, maybe one third pot, is one option.
The above methods can all be used against players that you have just sat down with and this is the most difficult time to read an opponent, after an hour of play you should have a better idea of your villains hand selection and style of play.
Things to be wary of are small pocket pairs that hit the flop, for example when a player limps with 33 and spikes a 3 on the flop, this is very hard to read on a non-threatening board. Try also to be aware of the straights that might be possible. Lastly ALWAYS use the 4 colour deck, our brains react more quickly to colour than to symbols and it is much easier to spot a possible flush.

Disclaimer: thoughts of a little fish.

P.S. i can spell but i am English and colour definately has a u in it.

Good luck.

lol I'm with you on this one.

To the OP, I suggest when you play, take notes on the players and monitor betting patterns of as many players as possbile and use a baseline to put their hand ranges on.

Everything counts, even bets made on the flop, raises etc.

A pattern will ermerge.

For instance, a person raises to the pot amount when he has AK AQ, but KQ, AJ and A10 he tends to bet a little but more than the pot.
Alot of online players tend to raiser bigger with cards that can be heavily dominated post flop so that they can rather just win the pot there and then without playing the mediocre cards out of position after the flop. Try to identify these people and you will be able to put them on a range of hands.

Heres another example, observe how some people play small pairs, some people like to minraise with a small pair hoping to take the pot down uncontested but if they get called they wanna make a set (afterall a limp is seen as mega weakness so they raise just a wee bit)

If you call behind a person that minraised and the flop is ragged but you have top pair and a good kicker, that person then checks to you and pulls off a check raise either on the flop or turn, theres a chance that you are staring at a set. So monitor which people min raise and ask yourself always why why why why did he do that, why did he do this? and you'll start putting together a "portfolio" of this person.

Another person raises always 4 x bb with AK, AQ and then if he hits the flop its an auto pot sized bet as his c-bet, however when he misses and is trying to throw a c-bet his c-bets are always halfpot (this is to test the waters and try a semi bluff, if he is caught out he can fold and not have wasted too many chips) in this instance you will have a good read on the player and can try pop him even if you missed to try and steal the pot away from him. etc.

These arent hard and fast rules but you need to monitor the players at your table.

What you can also try to do is use something like tournament indicator.
This utility has many functions, such as automatically calculating and displaying your M ratio, displaying your pot odds, counts and displays your outs etc

It has an additional and very important function where it tracks the hands your opponents have played and classes them into various classes. Tight, loose, gambler, calling station, etc
It uses a number of different algorithms to class each player and has a look at things like VP$IP, percentage of hands won at showdown, percentage of preflop raises etc

This can help you monitor the players at your table, and you can also save notes into the utility.

By using a tool like TI and keeping a few notes, you can identify who the gamblers are, who are the tight agressive players, etc
and then you can again start putting them on ranges of hands and decide if you are going to call their preflop raises or not.

After a while you will know who you can call with k10 suited and who you going to instafold AJ to.

I hope this helps

regards

Paul

Take notes often, it will force you to pay much closer attention to other players moves which of naturaly will increase your ability to read your villians. Also, Practice, practice, practice!

thanks again guys for the heads up..so far my note taking is working well..
good luck @ the tables

maybe you should ask yourself why did that person raise. Thinking you have the best hand is not good enough. Bluffing is a big part of the game but people do often hit a great hand. Betting is a great way to gain information on your opponents. Checking gets you nowhere ( im not saying never check but it leaves you with no real info when playing against new people).

So try to see betting as a way of communication in it's self.

Hope this helps

This is why I don't like single table tournaments, it doesn't give you enough time to figure out how someone plays..doing multi-table tournaments gives you the chance to see how someone plays and to essentially outplay them

Tournament Indicator is great, too

what other programs are there?

i dont use any poker software still despite every1 reccommending it..if i cant get reads from my senses & smarts then i prob. shouldnt be playing..if i stop trying to learn then i will never get better..i may be missing something but think that software that gives you extra info you woul not otherwise have isnt helping you..its hurting your poker development..fine for prely online players, but you dont havea HUD with you playing B&m live poker...and thanks again all who helped me..my reads n tells are defiantely improving & i have more cashes now to verify that..

If you play HU or very shorthanded or with cash game/SnG regulars, then you should record your play and then studdy(if you got time), what the players do. That also helps you sharpen your own skills. Then, few months later, when you have forgotten this clip, watch it again and try to put your opponent on a hand(not hand ranges, thats too easy, but exactly on a hand or two) and watch again what did you do wrong.

What software are you referring to?
If possible can you post a link to it please?

Thanks for the advice..do you know off hand any software that will record my plays on tilt? how do you do that to review them later >? the only thing i could think of is to import my HH folder into a converter then watch them that way..surely there has got to be something out there..id appreciate a followup..sounds like this could be GOLD>.

There was a program called universal replayer. Dont know if it exists anymore.