Guessing

  There have been literally billions of words written on the topic of putting somebody on a hand - most of those words have been written by Daniel Negreanu, but that is beside the point. Putting somebody on a hand is both a skill and an art. Some folks can do it to the point where they look like they are almost psychic. Let's be honest though, there are no absolutes when it comes to putting someone on a hand. No matter how good someone seems to be at this practice, never forget unless you have a mirror sitting behind you, and your opponent can see your cards, when they put you on a hand, they are really just guessing.  If somebody is putting you on a hand, it has less to do with some sort of magic they have and more to do with what signals you are giving them. This is where tells come into play combined with the situation, and the pattern of your play. These are the ingredients that make it possible for someone to accurately put you on a hand. They are not mind readers, they are just taking the information you are giving away, and interpreting that in a manner that allows them to guess correctly.  Most people fail to realize that the power is really theirs when facing off against someone who is really good at putting players on a hand. Changing up your play, calling a few times when you would normally fold, and deliberately showing some tells in order to project a false positive will screw up his read and turn you into a more of a puzzle than a picture.  Remember, good hand readers are only guessing, and need you to help them along. Don't give them that sort of power.