Re: Psychology in poker and how to exploit it
Welcome to the forums, this is a great resource for all things poker. If you check the forum topics, you'll find the Psychology forum towards the bottom.
Your first thoughts of teaching your home game opponents to play right into your hands are interesting, not necessarily foolproof. You're never going to completely condition any of your opponents. I feel the best way to teach your friends (I'm assuming they're friends, yes?) is to toss them a beginner's book and tell them to ask anything after reading it.
Scouting your opponents ahead of time... eh... I mean obviously this wouldn't be realistic in tournaments, but even in ring games this might be a little difficult. I think finding a majority of players (especially a majority of donks) who have the patience to park themselves for an hour at the same table might be asking a lot.
People will come and go as they please, and if they don't conform to your plans, what can you do? It might be better to sit down and post blinds, maybe play a little tighter than usual for a couple rounds. You won't lose too much, and you can pick up tendencies as you're sweeping their chips away. PokerTracker and other programs can also be a huge help in netting the fish.
A+'s are tough to get in poker. Patience and a little luck as well as the information are all necessary too. Oh, and I didn't mention anything about how it's probably -EV to educate your opponents, but if it's your friends, this shouldn't apply.
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