Poker Lesson 03: Key Winning Factors

If the only ingredient to winning poker were understanding the hierarchy of cards, the World Series of Poker would include third graders, savants, and the occasional imaginary friend. There is so much more that goes into winning poker then just the cards. The intangible aspects of the game are what separate the amateur from the professional.

Concentration and Observation

When playing poker, self involvement is not your friend. Concentrate on everything when you playing. Use your eyes and ears when studying your opponent. Listen to what is coming out of their mouths while observing what is going on with their body language. Many player talk loose and play tight. Later on they may switch this up on you. Take the measure of the player on every hand.

If sheer observation is not providing the information your looking for, start to prod him. Throw a bluff at your opponent and start looking for weak points. Over time, you should get a good snap shot of how your opponent plays, and reacts. Be careful to not get so involved in looking for cracks in your adversary that you become an open book yourself.

Psychology

There is also a psychology to the game. Play aggressive. This sort of play will intimidate weaker players at the table and limit the number of serious threats to your stack of chips.

Remember bluffing also has a psychological effect on a player. Lying is not something most people are comfortable with, no matter how at ease they seem to be doing it. Bluffing and lying are the same thing. When a player is bluffing there may be some physiological sign. Watch a player’s body language. They may give themselves away with an unconscious movement or action that happens only when they are bluffing. There will be those with unusually good body control. Fortunately they cannot control their heartbeat. When you see a player’s neck just throbbing away, the cause of this will probably be a bluff they are trying to perpetrate.

ESP

Most people know that ESP stands for Extra Sensory Perception. There is a sort of ESP that comes with time though. Lets call it Experience Sensory Perception. A player who has developed this sort of ESP will be able to work on instinct in times when they have nothing else to lean on. In the words of Obi Wan Kenobi, “Trust your feelings”.

Mathematics

Poker mathematics deals with the expected situation when we bet, call, raise or fold. Understanding the mathematical expectation on poker will help you in predicting your winning chance or the situation that makes you loose the bet. So, you know when it is the time to bet, to fold, to raise or to call in order to optimize your winning and minimize your loosing of money.

In a particular play, you may think and you feel optimistic for its winning chance. However, later you know that it is not the best one as you find another better play. For example, you have a full house of a five card draw. The opponent before you bets. You think that the best thing to do is to raise, as you know that if you raise, the player will call. However, the two opponents after you will certainly fold. If you decide to call, you feel sure that the two players after you will call. In short, if you raise, you will get one unit, and if you call, you will get two unit. So, the best decision in this situation is calling.

Mathematical expectation can also lead the player to realize that one particular play having a less profit to the player rather that the other. For example, when you predict that you will loose 75 cents including the ante, you should play on as it is better than folding it when the ante is a dollar.

Understanding mathematical expectation can also leads you to a sense of equanimity. It means that by doing the play based on the understanding on mathematical expectation, you will not feel surprised on the amount of money you loose as you has already known that it is the best play you can. The same thing happens if you win the game. You will know the exact amount that you will gain through this winning.