At the start of a hand the blind bets and antes (if used) go into the pot to be played for. If someone at the table wants to win those chips, they declare their interest by an initial bet. That is the beginning of the conversation. While placing the bet at Poker QQ site, conversation can be done with live dealer at live table. The players have to show interest in the wagering of amount to get the benefits. The use of strong hands is there for improving the winning chances at poker table.
With the exact knowledge of your pocket cards and the board cards, you will only occasionally be certain that you hold the best poker hand. To help you make more correct plays, treat the betting as a conversation.
If everyone speaks honestly in the betting conversation
- A player folding tells; “I have bad cards,” “no position to play them,” or “that bet is too rich for my hand.”
- A small bet says; “I have a weak hand,” or “my hand needs to improve.”
- A medium bet declares; “I already have a good hand that may still improve.”
- A large bet states; “I have a strong hand which may also get stronger.
- A raise, re-raise or calling a large bet speaks loudly; “I have a hand that I am willing to take you on with.”
Of course not all players are honest with what their betting tells
A small bet may be saying; “I haven’t reeeeeeally been dealt A-A.”
A medium bet may let on; “every time I am one on one with you and do this, you fold.”
A large raise or re-raise may intend to tell; “regardless of our cards, my stack compared to yours in this situation means you can’t call” or, “come and have a go it you think you’re hard enough.”
Just calling a large bet may have the player advising; “I’ve got chips to bluff with.”
Sometimes the betting conversation will have double meanings and we are not even talking about split pot games… man those conversations get confusing.
If you spot a trend
Someone who is often weak in their betting may be articulating anything from; “let me have cheap cards with which to beat you” to, “will you walk into my parlour, said the spider to the fly.”
Someone who continually makes large bets or raises may be saying anything from; “I’ve read the books, seen the coaching DVD’s and this is all I learned” through, “I have a large poker bankroll and playing at these stakes is nothing to me” to, “I have a premium hand again and again… and again.”
Their aggressive play may also say; “I’ve seen a weakness in a player or the table that I am going to exploit.”
So… learn the language
Initially, keep things simple. Pay attention to the two players to your left, then the two to your right; most of the hands you will be in, will be with these players. Try to find out if they have a natural loud voice no matter what they are saying, or if it is the quiet ones you have to watch. Once done, begin listening to the others.
You should understand that the betting conversation may be less honest due to a tournament situation necessitating the odd lie.
There is a language in poker betting; as you learn it you will make the correct decision more often. Making correct decisions is the key to successful poker.
One way to learn the language is to earwig on other player’s conversations by selecting a poker tournament in its closing stages. Listen to the betting when two or more medium sized stacks start talking; see if you can follow the conversation and guess what the players are holding.
When a small stacked player puffs their chest out; listen to the lilliputational squeak of “all-in” as they try desperately to steal the blinds or double through. The bigger stack with an uncompromising ten times re-raise may declare to the rest of the table, “back off, this one is mine.
As you learn the language
You will find there are four types of poker conversationalists.
- Those who do not bother to learn the language; these are easy to beat. Any player who has not learnt the language will not have learnt that a good looking hand can turn bad and are usually easy to trap.
- Those who are cunning linguists; skilful talkers are fun to play against. If they outplay you or just get better cards, then enjoy the game; see what you can learn from them. The difficulty is in understanding who can talk well and who just talks big.
- Those who refuse to listen; they can be annoying, your way to beat these players will depend on how large their stack is compared to yours. Sometimes you can shout until you are blue in the face but will go unheard. Do not try to trap these people; just play your best cards against them.
- And then there is you; ah yes… you. You pose a question when necessary, listen to the answers, and are always honest with your betting statements. Yeah right!
Finally
If you have visited a foreign country you may have picked up a few basic words; but you damn sure will have learned their currency, because no one likes being ripped off paying too much for what turns out to be nothing.
