Paul Wolfe
September 26, 2005 I was at my first World Series of Poker in 2002, talking to a player
who had made the final table the year before. He gave me
a poker tip I've never forgotten, and it's helped me ever
since.
I had raised pre-flop with A-K and he called from the
button. The flop came all small cards. I checked and he
fired a pot-sized bet. I looked at him and said, "You
must have a good hand." His reply caught me off guard;
"It doesn't matter what cards I have if I know what
cards you have."
At first I thought I might have a tell – maybe I
hummed when I missed the flop, or I looked away from my
chips. It was later that I realized I did have a tell,
but it had nothing to do with my physical demeanor. It
was the way I played my cards.
Poker strategy is often not so much about the cards you have,
but knowing the way your opponent plays. Keeping track
of which hands your opponent raises with - and the
position from which he raises with them - is a large
part of the game.
In a live game, it is hard to remember exactly what
cards your opponent has raised with over the years and,
if they're good players, those hands will change from
time to time. But many poker players are creatures of
habit, playing the strategy they are most familiar with.
Online, there is no excuse not to have this knowledge at
your fingertips.
While playing on Full Tilt Poker, I get to write
notes on players and it is a great help. I am always
referencing my notes, and they will often tell me which
hands an opponent has played in the past. The
color-coding makes it even easier for me. I use one
color to mark the players who only bet when they have a
strong hand, and another color to mark the action
players.
When I see a player marked with a certain color, I
can safely assume that he's going to overplay his hands.
This is a guy I am more willing to call with a hand that
might be a little weaker, or a drawing hand after the
flop. Why? Because I know that if I hit my hand, he's
going to pay me off; I have implied odds to call. With
another player, I'll play a little tighter because not
getting paid off means my implied odds aren't there.
This one bit of information has both increased my
winnings and minimized my losses.
Self-awareness is an important part of any poker
strategy.
But in poker, knowing your opponent is just as important
as knowing yourself.
Paul Wolfe
You've got the poker tip, now
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