Does PlayerView/GameTime really help?

Bobby Digital · #1 01-26-2005, 01:59 AM

How much weight do you put into the stats of a player who you have around 50 hands on? The stat I look the most at is usually aggression factor when deciding what to do in marginal situations. The problem is over the past week or so it just seems like I have been making plays that have been a little too fancy. It seems that the "default" play in all these situations is probably the best line.

It seems like I'm saving money in some areas but this is probably not making up much for the situations where I would have made the correct play without the stats to influence me. Am I basing this over too small an amount of hands or are the players at .50/1 so unpredictable that I shouldn't even look at the stats until maybe 300-500 hands. If we need a sample of 10,000 hands to get our own stats close to what they truly are what do we need for an opposing player?

OrianasDaad · #2 01-26-2005, 02:55 AM

Some stats converge quickly. VPIP and aggression are two that do. It takes longer for some stats to converge for tight players, because there are less post-flop actions for them. All-in-all, I find PV more useful in planning action against loose opponents.

Default play is usually best at micro-limits. Sometimes, it isn't. It comes down to knowing what different stats, and combinations of stats mean - and how to apply them in your game.

I think tools like PV and GT+ make the most difference for those that study the game intensely away from the table.

DMBFan23 · #3 01-26-2005, 02:57 AM

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sf340flier · #4 01-26-2005, 03:16 AM

I have found PV helpful when a player "deviates" from their normal routine. For instance, take an LPP. If their post-flop aggresion is low, maybe even near zero, you need to really pay "extra" attention when they raise and reraise.

Obviously, the more hands you have on a player the better (and I do agree with the earlier post about the data converging more quickly with loose players -- makes sense). I also think the next great online poker book will include strategy on how to adjust play according to opponent stats.

Just my $.02

sin808 · #5 01-26-2005, 03:54 AM

50 hands isn't a whole lot to make any solid judgement on IMO. Stats aren't a replacement for good notetaking and solid reading of your opponents. But as poker is a game of information, having as much information available to you as possible is good. So it does help fill in alot of blanks. If you aren't careful though you can get into overkill having stats on screen that aren't going to be that meaningful over the limited sample size you collect on your opponent. I personally have just VPIP, PFR and aggression by street. That's enough to help identify what type of player they are quickly when I don't have any other notes.

cardtarget · #6 01-26-2005, 01:15 PM

While 50 hands isn't a great number, it's plenty to tell who the maniacs and fish are at the table. Generally I'm 3 or 4 tabling and knowing who the maniacs and fish are at each table is all the information I'm looking for anyway at $.50/$1.

droolie · #7 01-26-2005, 02:04 PM

It's a great tool for multi-tabling. It helps to know their VP$IP when considering how marginal a hand you can be value betting with. It also helps to spot maniacs you would rather isolate than fold to pf. It also helps in seat selection as having all the TAG's on your right really sucks. It also helps with getting reads as aggressive players semi-bluff more than passive ones. It also helps with... you get the picture. Get it? Get it.

Reqtech · #8 01-26-2005, 02:13 PM

I've only been using GT for the past week or so, but I'm in love with it already. It's not the end-all, be-all, but it's allowed me to make some pretty accurate reads on the super-tight players (<10% VP$IP) who I wouldn't notice only play AA, KK, QQ, AK.