Identifying players

mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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Sometimes I can get really really good reads on players. Other times it becomes almost impossible for me to get any kind of a read on a player. Like when I have a good read on a player, I know exactly what spots theyre going to bet in, what their bluffs look like, how to induce bets from them when they have worse hands etc etc... but then sometimes ill have several games in a row where I'm just playing blind and cant read them.

is it that some players are harder to read sometimes, or is it me? like maybe I'm not as focused as I should be?


I should note, currently I am not playing with a HUD, simply because Im playing on bovada and poker tracker and holdem manager dont work there. im thinking about getting holdem indicator, but its really hard to justify spending $100 just for session stats (especially without a trial)
 
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makrarom

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Assuming every person is as easy to read as the person you "can" read, is just foolish. Some opponents are harder to beat, more experienced, and changing their style of play.

You could experiment with new ways of play/strategies and potentially expand your horizon.
Ask yourself: how do you know, when you do know, what your opponent is going to do? How did you "read" him. Is it because you play like him, do you see his mistakes through your own? And so on.
 
Dutchtegon

Dutchtegon

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ofcourse you cant read everyone, and you will make some mistakes, but if you can read atleast 2/3 hands from each player correctly. You just became a legend.
 
wildyetty

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You may have a read on someone... But note they also have a read on you.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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started playing with the hand catcher, and seeing the stats definitely is helping me identify player types even when im sometimes not paying attention. but im afraid i might be relying on it too much and not noticing the really big flaws in my opponents play (things like always bluffing the river, or calling all the way to the river then folding to river aggresion... etc) i guess i should play around with setting up PT4 to show those stats
 
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yjt93

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Hud is very important, since you don't have one i'm assuming you playing at micro stakes. Hud is even more helpful at micros because you can tell if a player has really high VPIP very easily.
 
Zhendos

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well on microlimits there are such shots whose game just doesn't give in to a logical explanation) and HUD can work both for you, and against
 
John A

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started playing with the hand catcher, and seeing the stats definitely is helping me identify player types even when im sometimes not paying attention. but im afraid i might be relying on it too much and not noticing the really big flaws in my opponents play (things like always bluffing the river, or calling all the way to the river then folding to river aggresion... etc) i guess i should play around with setting up PT4 to show those stats

Use my Hitman HUD... it's free. It's designed for making quick reads w/ small sample sizes (perfect on Bovada and micro limits). Lots of peeps use it and say the really like it.

https://www.acepokersolutions.com/free-poker-huds/
 
luiaguila

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it is logical not all play the same way and some have more experience than others change their game constantly and online is much more difficult to read players about the hud I do not think that will improve your game just make you take deciciones as if you are a robot
 
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yjt93

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good players will always try and balance themselves, maybe sometimes they'll just call with Qs instead of 3 betting it, etc. one small session may not represent if your specific reads are correct. Stuff that are useful to note is their VPIP, PR and Steal %. These are pretty easy to notice if you're playing less than 3 tables.
 
fred_antunes

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Pay attention to all information passed by the opponents at the table.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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so trying out the hitman hud, and its a lot of info packed into a couple lines.

so if the stats are:

VPIP / PFR / Post Flop Agg%
3-bet% / Fold to 3-bet% / Continuation Bet% / Fold to Continuation Bet%
EP PFR% / MP PFR% / WWSF% / Total Hands

what should i look for if I want to divide players into 4 types: weak passive (limping into pots but folding a lot when he doesnt hit) passive calling station(normal passive type, calling down to the river), good aggressive (lag and tag types), and maniac (donk betting and raising atc all over the place)

I could definitely use help learning what to do with all these numbers

1, are those good catagories to put players into?
2, what can i find out from stats like these?
for example player1 with:
VPIP: 24 / PFR: 14 / AFq: 38
3Bet: 4 /F3Bet: 0 / Cbet: 83 / FCB: 50
PFR(EP): 0 / PFR(MP): 0 / WWSF: 33 / 70 hands

Here's what I see looking at this:
Players 3 and 4 look like Regs (although player 3 doesnt cbet enough, i mean i wasnt either, i was feeling a little more passive in this session than i normally do haha)
player 5 looks like a passive calling station
player 6 looks like a weak passive (calling to see a flop, folding when he doesnt hit it)
and i dont know what to make of player 1.... (player 1 had $12/240bb when i joined the table, and he lost it his lead fairly quickly, seems pretty swingy)

Edit: Woops, attachment failed. I'll post the screenshot attachment when I get back from the store
 
Last edited:
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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Here's the attachment I meant to put in the last post:
 

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John A

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so trying out the hitman hud, and its a lot of info packed into a couple lines.

so if the stats are:

VPIP / PFR / Post Flop Agg%
3-bet% / Fold to 3-bet% / Continuation Bet% / Fold to Continuation Bet%
EP PFR% / MP PFR% / WWSF% / Total Hands

what should i look for if I want to divide players into 4 types: weak passive (limping into pots but folding a lot when he doesnt hit) passive calling station(normal passive type, calling down to the river), good aggressive (lag and tag types), and maniac (donk betting and raising atc all over the place)

I could definitely use help learning what to do with all these numbers

1, are those good catagories to put players into?
2, what can i find out from stats like these?
for example player1 with:
VPIP: 24 / PFR: 14 / AFq: 38
3Bet: 4 /F3Bet: 0 / Cbet: 83 / FCB: 50
PFR(EP): 0 / PFR(MP): 0 / WWSF: 33 / 70 hands

Here's what I see looking at this:
Players 3 and 4 look like Regs (although player 3 doesnt cbet enough, i mean i wasnt either, i was feeling a little more passive in this session than i normally do haha)
player 5 looks like a passive calling station
player 6 looks like a weak passive (calling to see a flop, folding when he doesnt hit it)
and i dont know what to make of player 1.... (player 1 had $12/240bb when i joined the table, and he lost it his lead fairly quickly, seems pretty swingy)

Edit: Woops, attachment failed. I'll post the screenshot attachment when I get back from the store

Did you watch the video and download the PDF? All of the info is in there. It's not classifying players into the typical TAG / LAG type things. It's showing you how to make quick reads on exploitable tendencies since you don't have much time to do so on a site like Bovada or micro stake games.

You can still put TAG/TAG/NIT things in there if you want, but that's not the main point. I'd suggest making sure to watch the video - I think it's an hour, and download the supplemental PDF.
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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I like the more typical player types, its just whats easy to me. is this hud not good for the typical identifications? or is it still good for that? i did try watching the video and reading the pdf. the player types seem hard to memorize, maybe i could print out the pdf and use it as a cheat sheet.

also, is the color code basically, red when a stat is too low and green when its too high? and orange/yellow is pretty solid?
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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Can be used on PokerStars, PartyPoker or...

Yes. Its a premade hud that works for both pt4 and hm2. It can be used on any site. You do need poker tracker or Holdem manager to use it if that's what you're asking
 
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PackerBell

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You can try to play in low pots
 
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diegoduran

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Its interesting looking at the time players take and trying to get reads from that, how do you know he's not just answering the door for the pizza guy?
 
mbrenneman0

mbrenneman0

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Its interesting looking at the time players take and trying to get reads from that, how do you know he's not just answering the door for the pizza guy?
Time taken is the least important tell and is never reliable.

Look for things like players who check all streets and then bet large on the river. Players who get caught triple barrel bluffing. Players who slowplay monster hands but bet marginal hands aggressively etc...
 
John A

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I like the more typical player types, its just whats easy to me. is this hud not good for the typical identifications? or is it still good for that? i did try watching the video and reading the pdf. the player types seem hard to memorize, maybe i could print out the pdf and use it as a cheat sheet.

also, is the color code basically, red when a stat is too low and green when its too high? and orange/yellow is pretty solid?

Classify it however you want. I've had tens of thousands of people use it. A lot of people on here use it, and they follow the player types. You can always just make your own. This is just a guide on how to make reads quickly, which I'm sharing based on 11+ years of playing online and having won hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Find something that works for you though if that's too confusing, and make sure it's fluid enough that you're making quick and accurate reads. You need that on a site like bovada.
 
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