Hope all is going well and glad to meet you. What was presented to me and what I figured out on my own; what people value and how they value their starting hands; hands that are played on flop and beyond. I studied my starting hand chart to memory for each position I would play; then I observed opponents and how close they were to my information by how they played their hands. Predicting their bets, predicting their play, trying to understand them as individuals and how they play random situations as some examples.
Taking notes, their starting hands when shown down, this will help narrow down their play before I can start saying with any regularity that would simulate putting them on an exact hand. Starting hand ranges are the base, the basics of what is important but to go beyond starting ranges, knowing when to throw out ranges comes from understanding when to trust what is being read at any one time is being built over time.
We are imperfect as poker players especially trying to solve an abstract problem, being right 100% of the time is not going to happen because putting someone on a hand is an abstract problem, but conditioning my brain to understand when it is necessary then I can put someone on hand, without the thought I need to put them on one hand or a range continually, but only when I need too.
Abstract problems, I use narrative theory because of needing the game to be fluid, subtle changes from person to person from narrating my game either out loud or just to myself. This helps to solve abstract situations because of the game being one continuous journey not one random or one specific situation that is surrounding my game by other abstract situations that we do not see what cards are being held. Filtering out what does not need any thought, that leads to focusing on play from first applying range thinking by my opponents that is backed up by what is shown down but without concrete evidence it is still mostly an abstract problem.
Triggers from what I narrate then filling the gaps from my information about what is observed and translated into narrative theory about what I am seeing. When an opponent makes a play, bet for example, they just triggered something concrete in my brain from my narrative theory of this or many random situations over time to come closer to solving an abstract problem in the moment, as it is happening. As the process continues it is specific models from narrative theory because how each person’s abilities are used at the table, meaning, narrative theory is actually what we can do, what we use more often at the table as individuals, our skill at the table, what we know and can perform under pressure. Starting hand ranges, narrowing down play, it takes practice, making mistakes, learning how to be a researcher of information are some of what I have learned to apply in hand reading.
I am a profiler of information, I follow where the information takes me, connect the dots, this helps not to be biased against what I am reading otherwise I would not understand when I am applying my information properly, when I am about to make mistake or to understand why I made my mistake then adjust as some examples. This is part of my process and poker players being individuals any process is not going to be an exact science or a system that can be learned, but an art of reading hands from gathering information that would be different for each person to experience. I am always willing to reshape my model, my blueprint when I observe it is necessary.