Listen to the player

[Herb N.]

I just posted somthing about this on the general theory forum,and thought this might fit in here.If a new face sits down, listen to what he says.Often a player will tell you what he thinks,and or how he plays.Example the player might say :I thought you had me beat[as he's raking in the pot].Then why did he call[if he thought he was beat]?Its Because he's a calling station.Bet your marginal hands,but dont try to bluff this guy.Be friendly to new players its good for the game.Open a dialog with a new player,again listen to what he has to say,many times he will tell you just how he plays hands,and or thinks.If nothing else it makes for a friendly table which is good.When I say open up a conversation im not talking about being interuptive to the game.

[Ryan_21]

"Example the player might say :I thought you had me beat[as he's raking in the pot].Then why did he call[if he thought he was beat]?Its Because he's a calling station."

I dont know about this. I agree w/ your overall post and what you are tying to say, players will tell you so much, all you have to do is listen and let them talk.

However, I was playing online and a hand came up about a week ago, I dont remember all the specifics, but on the end the player bet into my AK, all I had was Ace high, no pair, but the player open-raised from mid position preflop and the board was 10 high or something and I had a good read and feel that he only had high cards and I either had him tied or beat so I called and he turned up KQ and I took it down. And I remember typing in the same thing, "I thought you had me beat on that one"

Although I didnt really think he had me, I was saying that to keep the friendly vibe of the game going and so he wouldnt realize how good my play really was. He must have made the same conclusion as you because later in the night he bet into my flopped set on one hand all the way to the river where I popped him and he made a crying call w/ top pair.

Ryan_21

[Am Alert]

A favorite of mine, picked up from some genius, is

to casually ask in conversation, "have you ever seen Baywatch?" almost everyone has of course, yet some will lie and deny it, about a third of the time, I can grab a tell off this one simple question.