Shared advice from GK

[Garth Kay]

Just got asked a question via PM.

Thought I should share the same information with everybody to keep it fair.

What should you be looking for? That's a big question with many answers.

My response is to sit down quietly observe them all and take note how some of them act if they are excited/nervous and those who are calm and prepared. The calm ones might not have nerves and will be strong opponents early on, the nervous ones will either play stupidly or like a rock and either way there will be some easy chips.

What's really important is to notice how they sit, their posture the way they talk and the pitch and volume of their voices when they are relaxed, this is what we call a baseline reading. The good thing about this baseline reading is that when they do deviate from this posture or the way they speak that means some external stimuli has applied, positive or negative, you need to decipher whether those deviations from their baseline behaviour implies a strong hand or a weak hand.

I will give you several things to look out for:

Leaning back in a chair with arms behind head generally means very strong hand.

Shoulders slightly vibrating means players foot is tapping rapidly; this player is a high anxiety position - is he anxious about opponent calling or raising = hand is weak. Anxious about opponent folding = hand is strong. Follow the action closely here depends if this player is creating the action or playing passively.

Hands on table - watch this closely the more a players hands creep in towards the table, the more subconciously they are saying the chips are mine - getting ready to rake pot = strong hand. The inverse also applies for weak hands.

If a community card is revealed and your opponent's first glance is to his chip stack it means they are going to bet this hand and in their eyes they have a monster.

And finally, make your movements as robotic as possible, count out times in your head, always rest in the same position, do not alter your posture often, cover as much of your face as you can when involved in a hand. Watch your opponents closely, do not look at your cards as soon as they are dealt to you, do not watch the community cards being dealt watch your opponents for their reaction.

[David]

Can you post the actual question?

[Swanky]

The question was, "What should I do if old man Swanky sits at my table?"
Could have summed it up in one word..... FOLD!

[trishan]

This is all good advice but the key is not to place too much importance on a supposed tell. Play the cards - the most information comes from bet sizing and betting patterns. Use tells in addition to reading bets but don't look out for tells if this going to be detrimental to your game.

I had a good tell on a player at the Semis - he would always sigh deeply and do a bit of Hollywooding if he got raised and he had a strong hand but when he was just calling with an unmade hand he would get straight down to business without the acting.

[Garth Kay]

Play the cards?????? WTF????

Worst poker advice ever! LOL.

The question was:

What should I look for when I first turn up at my table? I moved on further than that to look for things during a hand or during play.

Betting patterns is obviously the best thing to look for but on the first day there shouldn;t be that much action nor would you used to be studying nine players all at once, concentrate on 3 or 4 of the more relaxed players.

And trust me those generic statements about positioning will come in very handy if faced with an all in situation and the player does one of the above.

[trishan]

Play the cards?????? WTF????

Worst poker advice ever! LOL.

LOL

My point is there are some people who go out looking for reads and will find non-existent reads and then place too much emphasis on those non-existent reads to their detriment. For some it's better to just keep it simple. I think you can read too much into people's behaviour at the table - that said I am working my way through Read Em & Reap now so I might change my mind...

[AceLosesKing]

I've never read any poker strategy books.

I really should.

[Dakota]

spot the online player

[Matty Norwood]

spot the online player

lol

[Caleb]

I've never read any poker strategy books.

I really should.

Same