Ultimately, poker is game that employs strategy based upon the
psychology of competing against other players. It is very
important to understand that to win a hand you need not
necessarily have a great hand during that particular game, only
the best hand of the players involved in the game at that
moment. In fact, a great many poker games are won with a very
modest hand.
Though amateur opponents may be easier to read, it is likely
that the strength of your game will come in great part by your
ability to watch how others players and to pay close attention
to their respective habits. Poker psychology in effect comes
down to your ability to take the observations of how others play
at certain times and then use those insights to judge how your
opponents may play their current hands.
The first fundamental layer involves watching what your
opponents do based on the cards they have. Try to keep track of
how each player bets, starting by keeping track of the players
who did not fold. Determine initially whether a player bets
strongly or weakly. During the showdown, be sure to examine each
players hand carefully,. Did they bet aggressively on a
relatively weak hand? Was it a hand that had potential and the
player missed it on the last card or was the likelihood of a
strong hand essentially nil? In
addition to the cards of your opponents, always study the
community cards carefully to see what they might provide another
hand.
Like any game, poker skill comes with experience - the more you
play the more you will begin to grasp the tendencies of
opponents. With game experience, you will soon build a feel for
how players bet depending on what they have in their hands as
well as how they respond to the bets and actions of other
players. For example, did the person start out betting
aggressively only to fold when others raised the betting, this
even though that person's hand improved as the game went on? Or
did they start out modestly, then begin raising or cap the
betting as the game progressed?
Common terminology is used to describe a player as loose or
tight depending on their betting practices. Players that are
loose are likely to bet heavily and stay in games for a long
time despite having a very weak hand. Tight players, on the
other hand, tend to play very close to the vest, and fold
easily. A second set of phrases is to describe the player as
passive or aggressive. When a player is raised, does he or she
tend to call? To fold? Or to actually re-raise when it is their
turn?
All these factors are part and parcel to what players refer to
as the psychology of poker
