Read

I am learning a lot about what it means to read the flop as well as how to read players. A lot of this 'learning' has come from reading books and various advice and articles available online. Do you see the theme here?

Let's start with why reading the books and online sites helped my game. It amazes me at the number of people that "play by the book." As I read the advice given out by various experts and wanna-be experts, I picked up when opponents were trying to emulate said advice. For example, I read a few articles that promoted a 'short buy-in' style of play on cash NL tables. I have seen players on tables donate a lot of money using this advice. Or, should I say, bad advice?

There are also the players that read one or more of the popular books, Super System II for example. The problem is they take what they want from the book and strictly, or primarly, play that way. It is like someone that is very tight, yet too passive. If all one does is play when they have a TIER I hand, then any good player knows how to take them down. The key here is the passive play, which allows players to chase against them for value. Anyone that sticks to one style can be read, and thus eventually taken down. Think about this the next time you run into a bunch of bad beats.

The speed of online poker makes it very difficult to read the family cards. Just because you have pocket Ace's (Kings, AK) does not mean you cannot be beat. If you do not have time to think about your next move, you need to find a way to limit your loses with those hands. My largest wins have come from playing less obvious hands: Suited connectors, middle pairs, seeing the flop cheap from the blinds. Some of my biggest loses have come from pocket Aces (Kings, AK). They blind you to the real situation. It is easier to fold pocket 89 suited or pocket 8's, when there are over cards on the flop, than TIER I hands.

The conclusion: I know I have to keep reading!