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The Ghost In The Machine - Reading Poker Hands
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Author: Marc Weinberg
You're playing online poker and fold your hand...again. You decide to check your email, turn on the TV, make a few phone calls. You are missing an enormous opportunity to make money, namely by ghosting your opponents' hands. But what is ghosting and why is it so damn important anyway?
The ability to read what your opponent has is an integral skill to successful poker. For some it is an innate talent, mostly the ability to sense weakness either in a betting pattern that seems illogical or in a bricks-and-mortar game where you pick up on physical behavior. But by far the easiest way to read hands is to put yourself in another player's shoes. This is what poker players refer to as 'ghosting' a hand.
In the simplest terms you try to guess what your opponent is holding, but the more you play and the higher your level of play becomes so those guesses gradually become more educated.
Imagine that a player at your table raises big before the flop, but then checks the flop. On the turn an Ace hits the board and he moves all-in. Now you're not even in the hand but you are giving it your full attention because it will establish what this player is like. What cards could this guy hold that would explain his betting pattern?
If you can work this out you have an edge over that player for the remainder of the session. Even if your opponent surprises you by turning over cards that were nothing like what you would expect someone to play in that situation it is still advantageous information for battles yet to be fought.
You will start to form an idea of your opponent's skill level. Do they have a firm grasp of poker? You won't be able to ascertain this from a single sample, but if a player repeatedly makes bad mistakes - either overplaying or underplaying hands - you will be able to make reasonable assumptions about them going forward.
It's not only about rating players, because when you ghost hands effectively you also get a feel for their style of play. You build a profile of their risk tolerance. Are they conservative players who have no stomach for aggression? Or do they chase flushes the way lawyers chase ambulances?
The best time to ghost hands is when you're out of the pot. This is the time when you can be objective, unemotional because you are not invested in the outcome, and completely focused on the play. If you're playing online you can turn ghosting into a large project, and believe me it is totally worthwhile.
By this I mean you can keep detailed notes on the players involved during your session. You can flag mediocre players and tailor your own play so that you come up against them as much as possible. Best of all, because online poker rooms offer note-taking functionality this information is constantly at your fingertips every time you log on and recognise a familiar username.
Ghosting hands will help you to maximize wins and minimize losses, but only if you trust your own reads. Back yourself and if it turns out that you were wrong shake it off, because no one can be perfect at this game. The beauty of poker is that you can play it with no thought and very little experience and not understand why you constantly get crushed ("bad luck" "the victim of cheating") but you can also put all your energy and concentration into improving your game and in the long run it will reward you.
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> The Nash Equilibrium vs Dudes Who Call With Ace High
> Online Poker Strategy The Absolute Poker Way
> No Limit Hold'em Cash Game Strategy - Betting On The River
> No-Limit Hold Em Cash Game Strategy - Sample Hand Analysis
> The Key To Winning At Hold'em - Part 1
> Shorthanded Limit Hold'em - The Advantages
> Avoiding Basic Mistakes In No-Limit Hold'em
> No-Limit Hold'em Basic Strategies
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