The Player, Not the Cards

The rapid increase in television coverage of Texas Holdem, and especially No-Limit, has continually shown that top players routinely play the ‘player’ and not the cards. In reality, it’s a little bit of both. Playing Texas Holdem in online poker does take away some traditional methods of picking up “tells” of opposing players. Analyzing opponents movements, such as nervously fingering chips or tapping their fingers, which are important “tells” to skilled players, are obviously non-existent in an online Texas Holdem poker room.

Most players, however, are creatures of habit. An experienced online Texas Holdem player can still ‘play the player’ in addition to playing the cards themselves. An attentive poker player can begin to see patterns in the style of play of their opponents. Such patterns include a player who consistently overbets their hand, a player who may play very aggressively on the button but meekly when in early position, or one who often folds when raised. Additionally, does your opponent prefer drawing hands, or does he stick to overcards?

The benefits of knowing your opponent are especially important in the late stages of an online Texas Holdem tournament. Consider the following possibility. You are playing heads-up in an online Texas Holdem tournament and are dealt a 5-3 suited in the big blind. The flop comes with a 9-7-2, all off-suit, and your opponent bets directly into you. Having watched your opponent, you know him to be a tight, aggressive player. Does this mean that you are up against a high pocket pair, or perhaps even a set? One sure way to find out is to call.

If the turn card isn’t a face card or an ace, you can be certain that your tight, aggressive opponent doesn’t have that great of a hand if it is checked to you. Most importantly, a bet here will almost certainly win the hand. Tight, aggressive players are likely to fire out a bluff once, but if they don’t hit their overcards on the turn, they are not likely to fire out a second bluff. Clearly, calling with a 5-3 suited is not always smart, but in heads-up Texas Holdem poker, knowing your opponent can be much more important than simply playing your hand.

Very often in Texas Holdem you will win more money playing the player, not the cards.