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MED - Hand Reading

Top 5 Tips for Better Hand Reading without Using Solvers

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The ability to figure out what poker hands your opponent could be holding, also known as hand reading, is one of the key aspects of your game. The best poker players in the world are using solvers to train this process and understand ranges in different situations.

Listen to this article within the podcast:

However, I am aware that not everyone enjoys using solvers and analyzing the difficult math, so I have compiled 5 tips that you can use to make better predictions without complicated tools.

There are many misconceptions about the hand reading process especially among new players, so it’s important to introduce the term “range”. This refers to all the possible hands a player can have in a certain situation.

If you want to play good poker, you should be looking to determine your opponents’ ranges, not their particular hands. In fact, putting your opponent on a single hand is usually a bad idea.

1. Think in Terms of Ranges

All too often, live poker players will say something like: “I put you on Ace-King.”

In reality, these players are usually just hoping that you have that particular hand while completely neglecting all the other hands you have in your range.

If you want to play sound poker, you will always want to assign your opponent a number of different possible holdings.

You can construct your opponent’s preflop range based on several factors, all of them adding or removing hands from their range. Consider things like their position, how they entered the pot, their player type and what you’ve seen them do in the past.

For instance, an aggressive player who decided not to re-raise before the flop will rarely have pocket aces. Likewise, an early position opener should not be holding a weak off suite hand all that often.

Thinking in terms of ranges and how your hand plays against it will get you better results in the long run and will train you to think about poker in the right way, even if you do make some mistakes while learning.

Avoid these 4 common ranging mistakes (video coming soon):

2. Mind the Bet Sizing

If you are often playing against the same opponents, you will see them betting in different situations. So, be sure to take good notes on how big they bet when they have the value part of their range versus how big they bet with their bluffs. Paying attention to bet sizing gives you valuable information.

Some bet sizing tells can also be used on the entire population in a particular poker game like Texas Holdem. While all bet sizes should be well balanced in theory, most poker players don’t do a very good job of it.

If you are playing against weaker opponents, you should learn a lot from bet sizes alone.

3. Actions Shrink Ranges

When thinking about your opponents’ ranges, you should remember that every action they make changes their range in a significant way.

Let’s say a player opened from an early position, and we decided to call on the button. If this player is a thinking player, we know we can assign them a fairly tight opening range from EP.

Now, as different flops, turns, and rivers are dealt out, this player will have to take action, whether he is deciding to bet or check on different streets.

Combined with the board texture, these actions can help you shrink their range and take hands out of it. The thing to remember is that their range can never expand, so never start thinking about them having a hand that you already excluded from their range on an earlier street.

Whenever your opponent checks, bets, or raises, you should think about what hands they may be doing this with and which hands you can now take completely out of their range.

4. Beware of Your Opponent

A very important thing to consider, especially when playing in lower stakes and generally weaker games, is who you are playing against.

For instance, an early position raise from a good player will never be 98 off suite, while many bad players will raise this hand even from UTG on a regular basis.

When playing, you should try to construct a range based on your opponent’s specific tendencies whenever possible.

Dealing with the extremely wide ranges of some weak players can be difficult. But, if you can hone in on their tendencies it can also be very profitable.

5. Turn Off Your Emotions

This one may be easier said than done, but may just be the most important part of the entire process. When trying to figure out what the other player has, you can’t let your emotions control you. Have you ever caught yourself in one of these situations:

  • You know you are beat but you call.
  • You’re seeking revenge against a player for an earlier hand.
  • You think a particular player is always bluffing.

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you might want to turn things around. Using a logical and steady hand elimination process and range construction is a much better way than simply hoping to be right this time.

Don’t get too stuck on the off chance that your opponent is bluffing you, even if occasionally they may be. If the spot is such that they have more value than bluffs, it may be the time to fold.

The fact is that if you play poker, you will get bluffed out of your hands, and you will miss earning value in some spots, and that’s completely fine.

As long as you are sticking to rational and math-based decisions, you will be fine.

Challenge

Here’s my challenge to you: Write down the 5 tips on a sticky note and attach it to your monitor. In your next 3 play sessions, actively try to assign each of your opponents a preflop range of hands and narrow that range through the streets based on the 5 tips. Make reads on the strength of their range and make plays that exploit your reads. Good luck!

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

Support the Show

These lovely poker peeps picked up my books directly from me (links below): Jan Pukmajster, William Young, Jamison Anderson, Daniel Palermo, Mark Fleming, Adam Choquette-Fuks, Bret Burns, Louis Barilovits, Chad Cheadle, BDD, Joseph Blazek, Evil Steve, Graeme Richardson, D. Woodward, Bret Burns and Frank Tanner.

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Q&A: Post-flop Hand Reading, Facing Cbets & Desperation Tilt | #221

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In this episode, I answer your questions with actions you MUST take right now to improve you post-flop play and your reactions to losing big money.

In episode 220, I discussed how a weekly study plan will improve your study efficiency and avoid poker overwhelm.

Q1: Hand Reading On-the-Felt (2:55)

From: Ricardo Valenzuela

Q: My question to you about the hand would be if you were playing this hand either live or even online, how long would it take you to be able to break the hand down without the use of Flopzilla and would you still come up the either the same or close to the same conclusion?

Action:

Over the next 5 days, play strictly one table focus sessions where your goal is to hand read the first person to enter the pot in every hand played. Depending on how they enter, the sizings they use and their player type, picture in your mind the preflop range they are playing with.

When the flop hits, gauge how well their range hits the flop. And then narrow that range in your mind through the streets based on the actions they take.

This kind of practice won’t make perfect, but it will help to develop your intuitive senses of your opponent’s ranges.

Background:

I have to admit, I cannot do this type of exacting practice on the felt, and who knows if I would come to the same conclusion. With more time to analyze a situation off-the-felt conclusions for sure are better than my on-the-felt conclusions.

But, hand reading exercises lead to better decisions and I’m more frequently thinking about my opponent’s ranges.

If you’ve seen my 66 Days of Hand Reading videos on YouTube, then you’ve seen me take 15-20 minutes and make very exacting choices when it comes to assigning a preflop range and narrowing that range through the streets.

For example, I learned that most turn check-raises or cbet raises I face over dozens of hand reading exercises taught me they’re mostly done with 2p+ hands. Now, it’s easier for me to spot the strength in their play and fold most of my TP hands vs a raise.

Another thing hand reading exercises teach us is that somebody can only have hands on any street if they had them on the previous street and preflop.

239Ar Board Example

For example, on the turn the board is 239A and you have a set of 9’s. You were the preflop 3bettor and they just called your cbet on the flop. On this Ace, you could be beat by AA or 54 for a turned straight.

But, does your opponent call with those preflop and just call the flop? Possibly, but highly unlikely in a 3bet pot. AA most of the time 4bets or would raise your flop cbet. 54s is not a likely 3bet calling hand preflop. They could call with 54 on the flop, but if they can’t have that hand preflop, they can’t get to the turn with it.

One final thing to keep in mind, though, is that your opponent’s prior showdown hands will influence the preflop range you put them on. So, if you’ve seen your opponent call a preflop 3bet with AA or 54, then you’ll take that into account and maybe approach this Ace on the turn differently.

 

Q2: Hand Reading and Quantifiable Stats (7:00)

From: Chris Baltzer

Q: This week I’m studying Hand Reading but I’m not sure what quantifiable stats I can track to monitor any progress I make. Any suggestions???

Action:

For the next 20 hand reading exercises you do off-the-felt (1-2 per day), choose hands that revolve around one skill you want to improve. Maybe you want to understand your opponent’s cbets more. So, choose hands that went to showdown where you faced a cbet.

Next, figure out which stats will be affected by your improved understanding. In this instance, you could track Fold to Cbet and Raise Cbet. You would track these stats before and after your 20 hand reading exercises.

Background:

Don’t do hand reading around a random hand every time. Choose one theme of study for the entire 10, 20 or even 66 hand reading exercises.

Here’s a bit more detail on exactly what you can do while working on Facing Cbets.

Every day do a full hand reading practice where you faced a flop cbet and it went to showdown. As you narrow your opponent’s range, use their Cbet stats (flop, turn and river) to gauge what hands you can remove from the cbetting ranges. This will give you tons of practice analyzing your opponent’s cbetting patterns on different boards and you’ll gain a better grasp of the cbet stat in general.

In every session you play during this time, have a “facing cbet focus”. So, before you call preflop, visualize their range. Also, take a look at their Flop Cbet and Turn Cbet (in position or out of position) before you call preflop so you know what to expect from them on the flop.

Tag hands that are confusing or interesting for study the next day. You can also do your hand reading on some of these tagged hands.

Recommended Quantifiables for a focus of “facing cbets”:

  • Call PF 2bet by position
  • Win rate when calling 2bets preflop
  • Call Flop Cbet – both IP and OOP
  • Win rate when calling the flop cbet
  • Raise Flop Cbet – both IP and OOP
  • Win rate when raising a flop cbet
  • Call Turn Cbet – both IP and OOP
  • Win rate when calling the turn cbet
  • Raise Turn Cbet – both IP and OOP
  • Win rate when raising a turn cbet
Start your audiobook learning by picking up ‘Preflop Online Poker’ through Audible.com. Click the pic above to begin your free 30-day trial or to purchase the audiobook version if you’re already a member.

Q3: Desperation Tilt (13:20)

From: John Berry

Q: My biggest (and I mean super big) problem: I suffer from chasing losses – usually after a bad beat, but it could just as easily be after a session of bad play. This tends to lead to more reckless bad play in a desperate attempt to recoup my stack as soon as possible, which leads to deeper tilt, which can lead me to blowing my entire bankroll.

Any practical advice you can share would be great.

Action:

Whip out a piece of paper and pen and write down the early signs that signify your desperation tilt is increasing and the specific things that trigger your tilt. The more you know about how you’re affected the better you will become at handling the situations.

During your play sessions from now on, take regular hourly or half-hourly breaks from the table. Use the break to assess where you are at mentally. Go for a walk, use the restroom or do some push-ups. Do things to take your mind off of any beats or losses you suffered.  Only return to the table when you’re in the right mental space.

Background:

This is not a quick and easy fix. This type of tilt is a buildup of all the anger and desperation you’ve felt in the past, so it’s going to take concentrated effort to fix.

One of my favorite poker books is Jared Tendler’s The Mental Game of Poker. You can get this on Audible.com.

Chasing losses is something too many players deal with, and he discusses it starting on page 145 in the “Desperation Tilt” section. A desperate player will do anything to get back those losses and it’s a form of accumulated tilt/anger/frustration at losing.

Here’s a logic statement to tell yourself before each session you play and after you suffer a big loss:

“Losing an entire stack is part of the game, so I accept that this will happen sometimes. But, I’m going to earn more stacks from my opponents than they earn from me due to my superior play and my ability to stay in control.”

In the book he gives a 10 step strategy for getting over Desperation Tilt on page 148, and the 2 tasks I gave you within the Action to take a moment ago were numbers 2 and 4.

I highly recommend that you read everything starting on page 145 in order to help you get beyond this form of tilt.

Pick a Challenge (16:40)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  I just gave you 3 different potential Actions to take, now it’s your time to shine! Choose the one that’s most applicable to what you’re striving for right now, and step into action.  Playing and studying with purpose are the best ways to improve your game. To help you out, here are some inspiring words from Lieutenant Rasczak in Starship Troopers…

“This is for your new people, I only have one rule: everyone fights… no one quits.  You don’t do your job, I’ll shoot you.  You get me?”

Support the Show

So many poker peeps upped their game when they purchased the first new webinar of the year: Poker’s Bread & Butter Webinar.  Thank you so much to:

John Sanford, David, John Zimmerman, Johan Cederlund, David Hanner, Alexander, Daniel Blumenstock, Brian, Quiet Jim, Jeanien Green, CJ Bell, Michel Boulos, Laura Sadowski, Chad O’Donnell, Aleksey Abdulov, Oliver, Zeljko Arnaut, Trent, John Gray, Ajit Challa, Mary Anne Fontana, Matt, Brian, Wayne Weeks, Thomas Ternay, Terry Miah, Lewis Sterling, John Walsh and Jim Rush

Adam Lenin purchased the Smart HUD for PokerTracker 4.  The HUD comes with 6 custom popups as well as specialized color coding for the most useful stats.  It’s perfect for getting the most from PokerTracker 4 and your online play.

Afonso purchased PokerTracker 4 through my affiliate link.  As a thank you, I sent Afonso the Smart HUD so he can get to exploitin’ ASAP!

Up Next…

In episode 222, I’ll discuss cbets and taking more action this month.

Until next time, study smart, play much and make your next session the best one yet.

Q&A: Poker Math and Hand Reading | Podcast #202

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I answer 3 questions about poker math, hand reading and another about putting them both together.

In episode 201, I answered 3 questions about cbetting without HUD stats, improving your poker session reviews and focusing on one thing at a time.

Q1: Poker Math (3:00)

From: Vincent

Q: Hi Sky.  I would like to improve my knowledge of poker math. For example: what are the various equations I should be using and when should they be used during play?

Answer:

Poker is just one big math problem.  And don’t be all freaked out over that.  Poker math is all addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  It’s simple, but it does take some practice.

Here’s a 3-step math improvement process:

Step 1: take notes on the math involved

When you’re studying any type of math, take notes on the equations and the situations where you can use them.  If you’re studying profitable calling, the formula you’ll learn is the break-even formula.  This is simply the amount of your call divided by the total pot after your call goes in.  You’ll write this formula down in your notes with at least one example.

Calling Break-even Formula: Amount of Call / (Pot + Amount of Call)

Example: your opponent bet $2 in a $2 pot.  Your $2 call makes the total pot $6.  So, you need to have a superior hand or hit a better hand at least 33% of the time to break-even ($2/$6).

Step 2: practice the math off the felt.

Look at your database and review some hands where you made a river call.  For each call, calculate the break-even %.  Next, estimate the frequency that you’re winning the pot.  If you estimate you’re winning more frequently than the break-even %, you made a good call.  If less, it was a bad call.

Step 3: practice the math on the felt.

Over your next few play sessions, focus on the break-even % for calls.  They don’t have to be your calls either.  Just watch the action and every time somebody faces a bet, run the math in your head for their calling break-even %.

Example: a player bets $3 into a $6.50 pot.  The calling break-even percentage is 3/$12.50.  This is tough to calculate exactly, but you don’t have to be exact.  Estimate instead.  $12.50 is very close to $12, so 3/12 = 25%.

For specific math-focused episodes just click on your choice below to be taken directly to the show notes:

Mark Warner recently published a great article on poker math call “The Shocking Truth About Poker Math” on ExceptionalPoker.com.  I recommend you check it out.

Q2: Poker Math and Hand Reading (8:40)

From: David Blundred

Q: I think one poker skill I need to work on would be learning the math side of things.  Also, I need to improve my hand reading skills.

Answer:

I figured I’d answer this question and kind of combine both the math and hand reading.  Superior poker math skills along with hand reading skills with make you a +EV machine.

In order to develop your hand readings skills, you’ve got to learn how to do it and you’ve got to practice it daily.  Please check out my 66 Days of Hand Reading videos on YouTube.

In these videos I show you how to hand read the villain’s range, the hero’s range and both ranges simultaneously.  Next, you need to commit to doing your own hand reading challenge for at least a month.  This off the felt work will ingrain these skills into your unconscious competence and will improve your intuition for it to help you hand read on the felt.

In the prior question from Vincent, I gave a 3-step math improvement process.  Now, here’s a 4th step for practicing math and hand reading at the same time:

Step 4: choose a hand to review that demonstrates the math you’re working on.

For example, if you’re working on making profitable calls with outs and odds math, choose a hand to review where you have some sort of draw on the flop and face a bet.

Start the hand reading like usual where you put your opponent on a range of hands and enter in your hand in Flopzilla.  Enter the board cards and before you narrow your opponent’s range, run the calling math and calculate the odds you’ll hit your draw.  If the math is in your favor, you made a good call.  Now, narrow your opponent’s range on the flop.  Enter the turn card.  If your opponent bets again and you didn’t hit your draw, run the math again.  Repeat this process through the streets in an effort to drill the math and the ranging practice in your noggin.

And think about your options other than calling and that math.  What if you raised instead?  How often does your raise need to work to break-even?  Is your opponent folding often enough?  What size would you need to make it to get him to fold?

One hand history can give you lots of different math to work on and because you’re considering your opponent’s range, it should be pretty easy to figure out how often he’s folding or re-raising or calling.

Check out Splitsuit’s Poker Workbooks for some great hand reading practice.

Start your audiobook learning by picking up ‘Preflop Online Poker’ through Audible.com. Click the pic above to begin your free 30-day trial or to purchase the audiobook version if you’re already a member.

Q3: Hand Reading LIVE Unknown Players (15:45)

From: Jordan Schiller

Q: One area I am finding difficulty is when it comes to establishing hand ranges for opponents at LIVE games. Due to minimal cards seen, time at the table, and people coming and going, establishing their hand ranges has been a real struggle. Assigning them a hand strength based on bet sizing is much easier because people tend to be much more consistent with their betting at a $3/$5 table. Any tips, though, for increasing LIVE game hand reading techniques would be appreciated.

Answer:

Doing off the felt hand reading is how you’ll develop an intuition for it on the felt.

Continue to do the bet ranging you do.  Many LIVE players tell you what they have with their bet sizing, so this is a great exploit.

But, here’s one thing you can do to incorporate hand reading along with bet ranging against “unknown” players.  Spend some time thinking about 5 actual players you play with, people who you know the names of.  One should be a Nit, another a TAG, and the others LAG’s, Maniacs, Whales.

If Bob is the Whale (plays passively, too many hands preflop, calling station post-flop), create ranges for his open-raising, 2bet calling, 3betting and 3bet calling.  These are hands that you believe Bob will play depending on how he enters the hand.  Do this for the other 4 players you have in mind.

These are your Default Player Type Ranges

Now, treat these ranges as default for any other player who fits one of the types.  If you’ve been at a table with Jerry for only 3 rounds, but he seems to be as loose and stationy as Bob (maybe lots of limp/calling and you’ve seen a 3rd pair showdown that he called 2 streets with), then consider Bob’s range as Jerry’s.  Same for any other players who are playing like one of the people you have in mind.

Once you have a range in mind, actively think about their range as you play.  This is easiest done in hands that you’re not involved in, but you should practice both ways.

One last thing, if the player you’re up against is a complete unknown, like it’s his first hand and he called your CO open from the BB, treat one of the ranges you create as your population average.  You’ve made 2bet calling ranges for Nits, LAG’s, TAG’s, Maniacs and Whales.  Which of these represents your average player?  This is your “population range”.

For more hand analysis techniques, check out these tips from UltimatePokerCoaching.com.

Challenge (20:05)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:   Practice your poker math!  I know there’s some kind of math that’s causing an issue for you.  Maybe it’s calling with draws, improving your river calls, understanding percentage form or HUD stat percentages, or something else.  Figure out the math you want to work on then follow the 4 steps I outlined today.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

Support the Show

Luigi Cappel gave How to Study Poker Volume 1 a lovely review on Goodreads.com.  No review could be better!  Thanks, Luigi!  If you leave a review for one of my books, please let me know so I can give you a shout-out on the podcast.

Daniel purchased my webinar called “Poker Mathematics”.  Along with this episode, Daniel’s got tons of help improving his poker game.  Click here to get the webinar for $5 off.

Up Next…

In episode 203, I’ll revisit my #1 poker study tip: recording and reviewing your play sessions.

Until next time, study smart, play much and make your next session the best one yet.

Poker Excerpt from How to Study Poker Volume 2 | Podcast #159

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I share with you a poker excerpt from the ‘How to Study Poker Volume 2’ Audiobook. I talk hand reading, article studies and database reviews.

Poker Excerpt from ‘How to Study Poker Volume 2’ (3:45)

This is a poker excerpt from Day 2 of my latest book.

I kick off this day of study with some villain hand reading practice.

I then get into lessons learned from a poker article called ‘Poker HUD Stat – Call Open /CCPF’.

Next up, I dive into my database with a filter to review pre-flop 2bet hands that saw the flop.  Here’s the filter I use for that:

pre-flop 3bet and saw flop

I end the day with discussing my warm-up and cool down for the session I played later in the day.

Get How to Study Poker Volume 2 for yourself:

Q&A: Creating Poker Videos, Understanding My Show Notes and Improving Turn Play | Episode 153

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In this episode, I answer three of your questions about apprehension about creating poker videos, how to use my show notes and improving your turn play.

If you missed it…

In episode 152, I discussed the importance of having a growth mindset within poker and when practicing your hand reading skills.

Q1: Reservations About Creating Poker Videos (2:15)

An email from MK:

Hello, Sky

After doing a few “game tapes”, I’ve been thinking to upload a few videos on YouTube.

My goal with this would be just to make some friends and connections with more advanced players to get feedback and just to get out of my comfort zone.  I hope that would help with self-confidence.

The problem is I have never done videos before except for the few “game tapes”.

It still feels very awkward and uncomfortable speaking to myself.  My English is not as good as I`d like it to be, my delivery is horrible, I contradict myself sometimes, it does not sound like I have any confidence in what I am saying and I feel insecure.

How would you go about it? Did you have any problems like that?  It seems to come naturally to you.

Any tips or suggestion to avoid embarrassing myself?  Or, am I overthinking it?

My Answer

A rule I try to live by: “Just do it.”

I had the same reservations you did when I started putting my stuff out there.

The longer you wait, the longer until you become comfortable with creating videos and putting yourself out there.

3 things for you to keep in mind:

  1. You can choose what to put out there. If you HATE a video you created, don’t put it out.  If you put out a video then realize it’s not something you want others to see, you just take it down.
  2. Approach this as a documentation of your journey. Mention this in your videos or in your YT bio.  Don’t act like a seasoned coach putting content into the world, act like a player who is working on their game and wants to connect with other players.  Choose a YT channel name like, “MK’s Poker Journey.”  At the beginning of each video you can say something like, “I’m just a poker player who is obsessed with improving his game, and these videos are documenting that process.”  If yor’re a fan of Gary Vaynerchuk you’ll know what I’m talking about here.
  3. Be genuine. I simply try my best to be myself and discuss the things that I truly believe.  When you’re genuine with your audience, they’re more forgiving and understanding.

For MK and everyone else, please let me know when you post your first video.  I’ll watch it and leave a nice comment.

Q2: Understanding My Show Notes (5:50)

An email from Chuck:

Some of my show notes confused him.  He said when he went to the show notes page, he expected to see something labeled “show notes” but that’s not what he found.  There are headers, but they’re not clickable.  He saw the time stamps and didn’t really know what they meant (like the 3:00).

My Answer

This is a great opportunity to explain how to use my show notes as I believe they’re another way to make the podcast more valuable to listeners.

I’ll go through the show notes for episode 151 for my explanation.  Follow along: www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod151.

At the top is the episode image with a short episode description.  Below that is the podcast player so you can listen or download directly from the show notes page.

Next is a promo for the prior episode.

Below that is where the valuable show notes begin.  You’ll find almost a complete transcript of what was said in the podcast.  You can copy the words here, cut them down to the most important “meat” of the episode, and save them as your notes on the subject.

Each blue header is a new segment

That first heading says, “What is Flopzilla? (2:25)”.  This means that at 2:25 seconds into the episode, I answer this question.  This is the first segment of the episode.  Within that segment in the podcast, I mentioned a hand reading video, and it’s embedded there in the show notes.

The next header reads “The 4 Benefits of Flopzilla for Hand Reading Practice (4:00)”.  So, at 4:00 into the episode I start to discuss this.  As you scroll through the show notes, you’ll see the screenshots that I reference in the podcast.  Poker is so visual and sometimes it helps to see what I’m discussing, hence the reason for so many screen shots sometimes.

At the end of the show notes is the Challenge with the time stamp there as well.

Everything below this is the “Support the Show” information where I give shout-outs to supporters along with links.  Below that is all my contact info and a plug for the next episode.

Q3:  Improving Turn Play (10:55)

Email from Johan Cederlund: I need to improve my post-flop play, especially the turn

My Answer

First, I want you to make this commitment:

I will do one full hand reading exercise every day for 66 days using Flopzilla and an old hand from my database that went to SD.

It’s a big commitment, but you want big gains and you’re not going to get them without lots of hard work.  The reason for the 66 day commitment is because this is how long it takes on average to develop a new habit.  So, Just do it!  The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll turn hand reading into a habit.

You should hand read your opponent one day, your own range the next day and both of you the third day.  Repeat this process.

Hand Reading Your Opponent’s Range:

Hero’s Range:

Both Ranges:

This practice is valuable for understanding ranges, range vs hand and range vs range equities.  Plus, this will require lots of post-flop decision analysis so you’ll gain a far greater understanding of what different plays and bet sizes mean through every street.

Playing the Turn

You MUST know why you’re making the play you’re making.  The turn pot has grown, so any mistakes here are more detrimental than mistakes made pre-flop or on the flop.  If you’re betting as a bluff, you should have their range in mind and be able name many hands they can fold here.  When you’re going for value, you should be able to name hands they’re calling or raising with.

If you’re on a draw, make sure the pot odds math is in your favor before calling.  You’re better off folding over calling too much with only one more chance to hit your hand.  Don’t forget that even though you’re on a draw, you can still display aggression and possibly bluff them off their hands.  Turn raises look very strong, and if the situation is right, you can use this to your advantage and blow the turn bettor off their hand.

If you just don’t know what to do, then you’re better off checking or check-folding.

In episode 134 I discussed comparing ranges and board textures, and I gave everyone a spreadsheet I use to improve this part of my hand reading understanding.  Visit the show notes for that page at www.smartpokerstudy.com/pod134 to get that spreadsheet for yourself.

Challenge (14:45)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode: There’s no better challenge you could take up; commit to 66 days of hand reading practice using a showdown hand from your database and Flopzilla.  One hand per day, the opponent’s range first, your range the next day, then both ranges the third day.  Repeat this cycle over and over.  This will revolutionize your game.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you if you take me up on this challenge.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

Support the Show

Thanks to Kestutis for some great feedback about my tonality and voice on the podcast.  It’s always a work in progress and I’ll continue to pursue podcasting improvements.

Charles Ogle decided to improve his game by purchasing my Smart HUD for PokerTracker 4.  Crush ’em, Charles!  Get the Smart HUD here.

Avoid the Fixed Mindset | MED #9 Class 3 | Poker Podcast #152

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In this episode, I discuss avoiding a fixed mindset and having a growth mindset within poker and when practicing hand reading.

If you missed it…

In episode 151, I discussed why you MUST utilize Flopzilla in every hand reading practice session.

A Growth Mindset vs a Fixed Mindset (3:05)

A necessary evil within hand reading is making assumptions pre-flop.  Some assumptions we all make:

  • Opponent’s ranges
  • Guessing how our opponents will approach their position, hands, the situation
  • Narrowing ranges based on how we think they’ll react and act in some sort of logical manner

Learn from “assumption” mistakes by having a growth mindset.

‘Mindset’ by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. (4:15)

I learned a ton about having a growth mindset from a book called ‘Mindset’ by Carol S. Dweck.

  • Fixed Mindset definition from the book: believing that your qualities are carved in stone
  • Growth Mindset definition from the book: believing that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts
  • A Growth Mindset can turn failure into a + learning experience
  • Fixed mindset people quit when the going gets tough
  • People with fixed mindsets are more likely to react negatively or even violently to bad beats and bad outcomes
  • Fixed mindsets see failure as a sign that they’re dumb. Have a growth mindset and see setbacks as opportunities to learn.
  • The fact that you’re working on your game means you’re doing the right thing. Putting in the work is important and will get you through those downswings.

Fixed Mindset Words: can’t, won’t, don’t, never (9:40)

Can’t: I CAN’T figure out pot odds math on the fly.

  • Flip it to: I just need to practice pot odds over and over off the felt and make cheat sheets to help me learn the most common pot odds calculations

Won’t: I WON’T be able to figure out this opponent.

  • Flip it to: Everyone has a weakness, I’ll keep digging until I find his.

Don’t: I DON’T have the time to study.

  • Flip it to: How can I make or take the time to study?

Never: I’m NEVER going to get this!

  • Flip it to: I can do this, just gotta work to figure it out.

Learn from your mistakes (11:25)

  • Take notes in your poker journal
  • Keep a “Mistake Log” to track the mistakes and how many times you make them
  • Update your saved ranges in Flopzilla as you learn more about your opponents

The great thing about poker and hand reading is that as soon as one hand ends, you get another opportunity to practice these skills with the very next hand you’re dealt or when doing reviews off the felt.

Hand reading is a skill that can be developed, and having a growth mindset and accepting mistakes as part of the learning process is a requisite to developing this skill.

Fixed Mindset Within the Rest of Poker (15:25)

The fact that you’re listening means you probably have a growth mindset.  I say probably because maybe you tune out when I talk about math or player types because you can’t seem to learn that stuff.  Take heart, all you need is practice!  Spend the time, take notes, drill yourself and it’ll come to you eventually.

Transitions between games (cash>MTT, MTT>SNG)

  • Choose one format to focus on and study/play mostly that
  • Figure out the most important, fundamental things you need to learn and start there

New stats and how to use them

  • AF, AFq, Won after calling river bets, etc.
  • Learn the formulas, filter for hands that relate to the stat and review the resulting hands
  • Add the stats to your HUD to force you to use them more often

New plays like check-raises, 3betting, bluff 4betting and donk leading

  • Study each for one week
  • Test them out in each session you play as you study them
  • Filter for facing the play and review those hands

Visiting new brick and mortar card rooms or even new online rooms – new environment, new players with different strategies

  • Take notes on differences you see
  • Look for good tables and players to target
  • Make friends out of the cardroom staff and your fellow players

Hand Reading Email from Ken (19:40)

So, after 6 weeks of working on hand reading, I must say “OH DAMN”.  I have done well over the years but my improvement in this area has been incredible. The results have been even better, but running hot as well doesn’t hurt. Due to time limitations of 20-30 minutes per day but sometimes more, I still have a few weeks more that I want to dedicate to hand reading and to work more with Flopzilla.  But, the time spent has been more than worth it.

I will be trying to increase this time as well working on my game. I have found it totally amazing that I am reading the hand ranges others are playing now with about 85-90% accuracy in the ranges I have given them.  But, every so often I miss by a mile but I am learning from those instances as well. 

Even more, I am adding things from your book as well.  I have started game tape about a week ago and yesterday, no kidding, I bought 20 1-subject notebooks to journal different subjects. I’ve been writing down my thoughts on my play over the years for each game I played but this will be a lot different. I may never write a book but the idea of going back over my journals for each area will help me refresh my game. 

In September, I am going to start Jonathan Little’s new book and do everything your book advised me to do.  I do look forward to seeing this technique used to the max and properly documented in my 1st Journal.

Awesome!  

It’s pretty obvious Ken has a growth mindset around hand reading and poker in general.  My hope for all of you is that you put in the time like Ken has to improve your hand reading skills.

Takes a ton of work, but Ken has obviously improved his game and that’s exciting!  I hope I get to face Ken and destroy his superior hand reading capabilities, just as he’ll try to destroy me.  I’ll see you at the tables, Ken.

Challenge (12:20)

Here’s my challenge to you for this episode:  Overcome any areas where you have a fixed mindset.  You need to catch yourself using those “bad words” I discussed earlier: can’t, won’t, don’t and never.  When you say one of these words, take note of it, and flip the script on those negative thoughts.  Turn them into positive, can-do, growth oriented thoughts and ideas that propel your studies and your game into new echelons of greatness.

Now it’s your turn to take action and do something positive for your poker game.

Support the Show

Jonathan Whiters purchased my Smart HUD for PokerTracker 4 this past week.  I’m sure he’s using this to gain valuable reads on his opponents.  Get the Smart HUD here.

And, Omar Gutierrez purchased the ‘Getting the Most From PokerTracker 4 Webinar’ , and by clicking the link here, he got $5 off + a free webinar of his choice.