Poker is a complicated game. It has a lot of variables that can impact the game down to every single hand. Different players, different cards, the dealer, then there's calculating odds, reading hands, tilting. A lot of things can affect every single hand of every single game.
Some of these variables are out of the player's control. No matter what he does, he cannot affect these factors. Some of these are bad beats and coolers; just incidents where you outplayed your opponent but just didn't manage to win.
Some of these poker variables though, can easily be affected or even controlled by your decisions. Knowing how to do this is very crucial in your growth as a poker player. Some of these variables are knowing when to bluff, putting your opponent on a range, reading your opponent, making him think you have a set of cards different from what you holding, and a lot more.
Being able to read your opponent is one of these very valuable skills in poker. This enables you to make good intelligent decisions based on what you know about your opponents. You can make decisions based on your reads on them. You can also play to make them think you have a hand totally different from what you are holding.
But what do you do when you have no information about your opponent? Like when you play against a person you've never seen before?
In these cases, it is important to have a backup plan. A tool you can use to help you get and edge, no matter how slight it may be. In this particular case, that tool will be stereotypes.
Always using stereotypes in all cases is just plain dumb. People don't act the same just because they look the same. Believing this is the case will drain your bankroll faster than you can spell stereotypes.
However, if you have absolutely no information to help you, then following stereotypes will often be the best choice you have; but only if you have absolutely no other information to base your reads on. This won't always be right, maybe just a little above 50%, but you have to take whatever edge you can.
An example of this is when you join a tournament and go up against completely random strangers. In this instance, the stereotype that comes into your mind when you look at your opponents is actually very valuable.
Whatever it may be, if you have nothing else to go on, lean towards the other stereotype characteristics that go with the one you observe. If an old man bets when the board pairs on the river when there was a flush draw possible, odds are, he isn't bluffing. If a drunken guy with his mistress sitting behind him bets in the same situation while taunting you, then the odds are in your favor that your low pair is good.
In the real world, stereotyping isn't as reliable as logical thinking. But in the poker world, where a small advantage can mean a lot of money in the long run, then having something better than a coin flip is profitable.
Some of these variables are out of the player's control. No matter what he does, he cannot affect these factors. Some of these are bad beats and coolers; just incidents where you outplayed your opponent but just didn't manage to win.
Some of these poker variables though, can easily be affected or even controlled by your decisions. Knowing how to do this is very crucial in your growth as a poker player. Some of these variables are knowing when to bluff, putting your opponent on a range, reading your opponent, making him think you have a set of cards different from what you holding, and a lot more.
Being able to read your opponent is one of these very valuable skills in poker. This enables you to make good intelligent decisions based on what you know about your opponents. You can make decisions based on your reads on them. You can also play to make them think you have a hand totally different from what you are holding.
But what do you do when you have no information about your opponent? Like when you play against a person you've never seen before?
In these cases, it is important to have a backup plan. A tool you can use to help you get and edge, no matter how slight it may be. In this particular case, that tool will be stereotypes.
Always using stereotypes in all cases is just plain dumb. People don't act the same just because they look the same. Believing this is the case will drain your bankroll faster than you can spell stereotypes.
However, if you have absolutely no information to help you, then following stereotypes will often be the best choice you have; but only if you have absolutely no other information to base your reads on. This won't always be right, maybe just a little above 50%, but you have to take whatever edge you can.
An example of this is when you join a tournament and go up against completely random strangers. In this instance, the stereotype that comes into your mind when you look at your opponents is actually very valuable.
Whatever it may be, if you have nothing else to go on, lean towards the other stereotype characteristics that go with the one you observe. If an old man bets when the board pairs on the river when there was a flush draw possible, odds are, he isn't bluffing. If a drunken guy with his mistress sitting behind him bets in the same situation while taunting you, then the odds are in your favor that your low pair is good.
In the real world, stereotyping isn't as reliable as logical thinking. But in the poker world, where a small advantage can mean a lot of money in the long run, then having something better than a coin flip is profitable.
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