Betting Patterns Quotes

I play quite an old-fashioned game of poker. It's a lot about getting a sense of people at the table rather than the maths of the thing.

I'd be willing to bet you, if I was a betting man, that I have never bet on baseball.

Before you even consider making a value bet, try to determine if the bet will have any value at all. Attempt to put your opponent on a hand that he'd likely call a bet with on the river. To do this, you'll have to mentally play back the details of the hand. Think about your opponent's playing tendencies.

Playing people and position post-flop are definitely my strengths. When I get into a hand, I'm aggressive but I'm also paying attention to my opponent's betting patterns.

I'd be willing to bet you, if I were a betting man, that I have never bet on baseball.

Too many players focus on physical tells. For both online and live games, you should be focusing more on betting patterns and histories. The ability to figure out your opponent's hand based on his betting pattern is a crucial skill.

Hold'em is a game of calculated aggression. If your cards are good enough for you to call a bet, they are good enough to raise with.

How players react to questions that you ask can give definitive information as to the strength of their hand. Even an opponent who says nothing at all might be sending a silent signal. A mere shrug, an awkward smile, or even a frozen stare can be meaningful.

It's never a good thing when an opponent has a solid read on you pre-flop.

I seldom reraise before the flop no matter what my hand is. By so doing, I'm able to disguise the strength of my hand and can trap unsuspecting opponents who interpret my smooth call as a sign of weakness.

Picking up a tell - a hint that a player unknowingly gives that reveals the strength of his hand - often means the difference between winning and losing a big pot.

Obsessing about statistics won't make you a better poker player. In fact, you'll end up wasting too much valuable time on that stuff when you should be concentrating on crucial issues, like getting a read on your opponents and studying the psychological aspects of the game.

If you're playing a poker game and you look around the table and and can't tell who the sucker is, it's you.

Poker is a skill game pretending to be a chance game.

Success at poker is ultimately the result of solid fundamentals and the ability to read your opponents' betting patterns. This is especially true when playing online. But playing live poker is a completely different animal. In this venue, the presence of physical tells can not be overlooked.

No matter what poker book you read or poker show you watch, the topic of position will invariably be discussed and its importance stressed.

First a piece of Irish wisdom: you should always listen to a bookie. For they have a saying, 'Money tells a good story,' and somewhere in their odds is a kind of science-fiction existentialism that decrees that we, the people, know everything. In other words, betting patterns often make for good, unconscious soothsaying.

Manipulating people is what's so fun about poker. I love that you can just look into someone's eyes and lie - and it's perfectly acceptable.

...in his gambling, he had one besetting weakness -- faith in a system; and this made his damnation certain.

To be a great poker player, you're going to have to learn this fact: Everything that's said at a poker table is worth listening to. It's all information that you can use to make better decisions, whether people are talking about baseball, politics, or, oh yeah, poker.

Poker is really about reading people. What happens when you bluff? What does it look like when the other guy bluffs? Does he look right, does he look left? Under what circumstances does he fold or call?

The correct strategy in heads-up poker is based on identifying and acting upon your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

I used to make it deep in poker tournaments without ever moving all-in because other players knew that when I raised it up, I had the goods.