Poker players must learn to read a game quickly

FAST JUDGEMENTS
There is an ability you can develop in poker which will lift you above the regular level of play. Professionals call it “situational analysis”. So what does that mean? It’s the ability to make fast judgements during a game based on what has taken place in the previous few hands. It’s being able to get a sense of how all the players at your table react to certain developments and factoring that intel into your brain quickly while you’re making decisions on your own hand. Now that you know this is a valuable skill, your brain will begin to open up a separate piece of software that looks to develop it. After a month or two it’ll become instinctive if you learn to fully focus and observe what’s going on at your table. Great trappers and woodsmen in the Wild West knew that if they couldn’t sense or smell wolves they’d end up as pup food. Instinct develops from necessity. If you “need” to win, you’ll develop this sense. It’s not as complicated as it sounds because opposing players tend to fall into just four or five simple categories. The Maniac or Pyscho (pure aggression), the Calling Station (will play far too many hands), the Mathematician (only plays premium hands because the odds are perfect) and the Professor (Tight player capable of changing gears when you don’t expect it. Imaginative. Will play a variety of hands with skill. Excellent timing and good instincts for sensing a bluff and when to launch one. Dangerous.) The first two types are playable. If you sense a Professor at your table, might be an idea to move on. The Mathematician needs watching for a while before you decide.

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ALL THE ACES poker column:
Sunday January 15, 2006: 
Poker 'Situational Analysis' - How To Make Fast Judgements