Improving post-flop play

[fathertime]

Url for below:

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_maga...amp;m_id=65572

There is another spot where Fischman credits Gigabet, I think, with getting him to play with his hole cards covered.


Anyone can read a person’s hand based on his actions and seeing common tendencies; that is, a beginning player will commonly bet small when on a draw and big when he has a made hand. What about more experienced players? What does it mean when they bet two-thirds of the pot one time and then pot the next? They certainly are experienced enough to know not to bet the same pattern for the same types of hands. So, how can you figure out what they have?

Well, get to know them, watch them play. Try to figure out what they’re thinking, as they have to be thinking something.

Put yourself in their spot; what kind of hand would you have if you were betting like that?

Now, do this for every hand of every player who is in a hand, for every player at the table, and if you’re playing online, for every table that you are playing (try to eight-table while doing this exercise). Put effort into every single hand that is played out at your table, not just the hands in which you are involved. Every time there is a showdown, and the losing hand is mucked, open up the hand history file and see what it was. Go through a hand again and see if you can figure out why a player willingly showed down a losing hand (something that rarely should be done).

I called this an exercise, but it should be done on every single hand that is played out at any of your tables for the rest of your poker career. This is how you become a real player. Post-flop is where the real game is at, and it is fun to play.

Use your bets to pull information from an opponent, and then when you know what he has, trust your judgement 100 percent. If you think he is on second pair but will not fold unless you bet your whole stack, bet your whole stack (unless, of course, you have a better hand than second pair, which is unlikely, since players like us can rarely beat bottom pair), even if it means your tournament is over if you are wrong. Practice trusting yourself; you will be wrong enough in the beginning to doubt yourself, but don’t let that stop you.

There is a strong possibility that I am the most active player in the world, and I can honestly say that this is something I do on nearly every hand. Imagine playing 6,000 hands a day on average, and watching and learning with no predisposed judgements of the other players. That is what it takes. Bad beats are no longer bad beats; they are just the cards coming out randomly, evening themselves out over time. What is really important is learning the thousands of languages that different people speak through their actions at the table. Believe me, it isn’t some spiritual science, it is listening and learning without prejudice.

Play online with Scott on his new site, www.thefishtank.com. Enter his referral code, scott88, for a bonus, and look for him at the tables under the screen name ScottFischmn! Scott welcomes questions, suggestions, and feedback, and can be contacted via e-mail at scottfischman@thefishtank.com.