Player's Stories

Putting Players on Hands (Impossible to Learn-Not really)
-A Beginner's Guide
By Al Spath

When you are sitting at a table and are watching the betting, think about what cards a good player would play Under The Gun (UTG), or in early position (first in the pot). So, when the UTG player raises to start off the betting, you first might want to assume they have something along the lines of a big pocket pair, or big suited/unsuited connectors and giant sized one-gappers (hands like AK & AQs), or another solid holding. If the player is noted for being overly aggressive from any position at the table, certainly include mid pocket pairs, hands like AT, suited face card connectors, or even two off-suit painted cards (name given to face cards). However, if the player raising has a particularly tight image, expect that they have the top cards they are advertising when putting in a first unprompted raise. Conversely, those who weakly and improperly limp (call) into pots from early position can usually be put on drawing hands (such as small pairs, connectors and hands like ace-x suited). These hands play much better in late position, with lots of callers, not in early position (EP) with many players yet to act.

Note: It is very important for you to be aware of the style of play from your opponents (are they solid, weak, bad, loose, overly aggressive) to enable your reads to be more accurate. It is therefore very important to watch your opponents play, whether you are in the hand or not, and try to understand why they bet (or how much they bet), or don't bet in certain situations. Notes on players can be very helpful in this area.

As you go around the table after the pot has been raised, those players now calling are also providing you much needed information. In fact, to call the raise will indicate (or at least it should), that they too have excellent starting cards. Additionally, when any blind hand player voluntarily calls any bet or raise, you might want to consider the fact that some players will do it for what seems to them like a cheap, partial bet. They will do this no matter what they're holding, so watch and see what they do following the flop. Many times the blinds assume they have pot odds to put in the chips to complete the bet with less than serious holdings. Then again, if they happen to reraise preflop, you might want to take notice, as they are generally advertising a big hand. Under most conditions, they will only call with a big holding due to their position (having to bet first after the flop), so they call (not letting their opponents know how strong they are), and then may attempt a check raise after the flop. Note: As I said above, a good number of players will defend their blinds with less than decent holdings. If either blind then comes out firing at the pot after the flop (following only a preflop call on their part), you might want to assume they have caught one of the following hands (and are betting for value or for protection): top pair, two random pair, a four-flush, an open end straight draw, a gut-shot straight draw or a small set.

Now, let's return to the action. Once the flop is made, you should be very aware of how many opponents remain in the hand, their position, and the number of bets in the pot. If there are many players in the pot you can also expect some of them to hold each other's possible out cards (if most were betting with premium cards), including you. It is rare to have players in raised pots with hands like 75 or 45 (well, you would think there wouldn't be), but you will find a great number of players still playing mid to small pairs like 77 and 33, and yet others who enjoy multi-way pots with holdings such as 89s. It is your job to evaluate the board (flop texture) and conclude whether the cards now shown are helpful to a drawing hand, or support top pairs. This will aid you in your decision to continue in the hand and to figure out if the cards exposed have helped whoever continues to bet (or raise).

The flop now comes K92 rainbow (three cards all of different suits), and the UTG player bets again at the pot. Now you might say that this player has no fear of the board and you might first assume that they have either a king, maybe pocket kings, or quite possibly pocket aces. With hands like AQ, QQ, JJ, that player is also most likely going to fire at the pot if only a "few" opponents remain in the hand, but they may be less inclined to bet if a large field remains. Note: Many aggressive players will still fire away (no matter how many opponents), in hopes of thinning the field and quite possibly eliminating players holding middle pair, or a weak ace (hands that if improved upon, have the potential of winning the pot). A bet in this spot is often made to gain information, to see where they are in the hand. Also, they may bet in anticipation of "catching" their card on a later betting round. If only one or two players are yet to act, then betting an under pair like a pair of queens is a play I would make as well. The initial raiser is betting that the remaining players will assume that he or she has hit the king (the preflop raise indicated big cards), or that if his remaining opponents do not have a king, or have a lesser hand, they will quickly give up the fight and abandon ship.

Now, I want you to take a quick look at the same process, with a twist. Let's start again and assume the preflop raiser (UTG) has bet after the flop and the next player folds, followed by a call, another call, and the button who now raises. The first bettor I put on a big K, pocket aces, hands like AQs, or a slight under pair, like QQ. The next player calling may in fact have a weaker king, a QJ or QT, something giving them a draw, not to mention a pocket pair of 9's or even 2's (yes, I see this a lot in tournaments and low limit ring games, cold calling pre-flop with pocket pairs of any size). Don't initially limit the wide range of hands opponents may be capable of holding.

While you can't initially rule everything out, you must think of all possible hands your opponents may be holding and as more cards are exposed and the betting continues, try to rule out more possibilities. Since the player on the button has now raised, that concerns everyone left in the hand. Does that player have the AK or a KQ combination, or if that person is a loose player, could they have played a K9s or off-suited? While two pair is a strong possibility, pocket 9's or even 2's would be a strong hand here with this particular flop as well.

Following the button raise, most of the time the player UTG (if they have Aces or Kings) will reraise and try to eliminate those middle players (but this is generally hard to do, with so many bets already in the pot). In this hand though, the UTG player reraises and one of the middle players mucks his/her hand and the other calls. The button then calls (had the option to reraise again, but just called), the reraiser. More information is gained by the reraise here, seeing only a call now by the button. Note: The UTG may not want to advertise further they have a hand like AA and just might call the button in hopes of trapping them later in the hand, but I would tend to reraise (and not just call), so I could possibly knock another opponent out, or at the least, get more money into a pot, where I certainly would have the edge to win with my premium starting cards.

The turn is an ace (in the same suit as the King on the board) and the UTG player checks. This card may have hit him perfectly or then again, this ace is higher than his cards if holding a hand like QQ. Everyone has checked and the button bets again. Now, if the button was not afraid of a trap that the ace created, you might want to assume the button player could have a set or at a minimum, two pair or a top pair. If the UTG player then raises, you know he has set a trap with the check-raise, and AAA or AK is the likely holding. In this case, the remaining player in the middle might fold, but if he/she calls, you might have to assume they are on either a straight or flush draw, or that they hold the remaining ace, which now gives them aces up. Don't rule out that he/she still might have trip 9's or 2's, in which "case," only catching a miracle nine or a two will win the hand. Otherwise, if the board pairs anywhere else, the ACES full will win. The button also now calls and you can assume that hand cannot beat the possible advertised set of aces.

The river brings a "ten" of yet another suit (making only two to a suit on the board, but three to a straight), and the UTG player bets, followed by a raise and then a rather weak and fruitless two-bet call by the button. You would logically have to put the middle player locked in on QJ maybe they have even been suited and they had a gut-shot straight draw and a possible runner-runner back door flush draw. The pot is actually too big for the UTG player to fold so a call is necessary to ensure the raiser didn't attempt a move (semi-bluff), actually holding a slightly lesser hand.

Again, each hand is different, put players on all kinds of possibilities to begin with, eliminate possibilities as betting and cards unfold and usually you will be left with a general idea of what you are up against. Just try it today in a tournament or ring game. Hell, don't play the ring game and just watch. Figure out what they might have, adjust as it goes, see what you end up with at the end, and see what they really have. You will begin to learn the technique, refine it and soon be amazed at how simple it becomes.

Comments to: AlSpath@pokerschoolonline.com