A naive question

[phage]

I have been wondering about the benefits of trying to read opponents at micro levels. Despite my best efforts (and those may be sorely lacking) I have had a hard time putting people on specific (or even a reasonable number) of hands. At this level should I just try and categorize my opponents (weak tight, LAG etc.) or try improving my sleuthing skills. I really feel that I need to get a handle on this if I ever hope to continue to improve and move up.

Thanks and sorry if this has been discussed previously.

[btspider]

just categorize. what range can you put someone on when they limp 50% of the time preflop and then call 60+% of the time on the flop.

[nepenthe]

You'll find it an exercise in frustration to put these micro fishes on any hand or thought. Just play a solid ABC game and you'll show good profit.

[Greg J]

Making reads on jokers that play any 2 cards can be tricky. You just have to keep in mind that they play crap. When some joker takes down a pot from UTG with 52o just make a note of it. Also make notes of betting tendencies... in short make a lot of notes. As for putting opponents on hands, realize tendencies. For example: most (not all) poor players don't value bet flush draws, so when they bet or raise on a 2 suited board, you can take this into account when the third of that suit come up.

As for narrowing down hand, experience is the key. Play a few thousand hands and you will be better.

Welcome to the boards!
Greg

[detruncate]

I'd recommend starting by learning to identify the common traits that members of each category tend to share. This will allow you to develop 'default' plays for most common situations. From there, flag tendencies that differ from the expected. Categories are formed through an observation of overlapping tendencies, but that doesn't mean that any particular player in a given category will behave exactly the way you'd expect.

It may be hard to put somone on a hand when their reasoning differs greatly from yours, but it's useful to remember that your opponents do have reasons for the plays they make -- even if a lot of them are rooted in erroneous assumptions or the urge to gamble.

Paying attention helps. Nearly everyone sacrificies some BB/100/table when they play more than 1 or 2. This is, of course, usually compensated for by an increased overall win rate (BB/hr), but it seems to demonstrate that reads are at least somewhat useful even at low limits.

[brettbrettr]

Definitely difficult to put there guys on hands, but take note of tendencies. Some guys ram and jam and then fold for one bet on the river. Some guys call down with anything. Some guys are actually good, so try to have a hand when you tangle with them. You get the idea....