Reading That Poker Face

You try not to let your opponents know exactly what you’re about to do, but many beginners consider it a skill, and that is to keep you opponents confused. Confusion is a passive approach but you do need to go out there and actively plant the seeds of deception, so that he/she will know what he/she wants to do. They call this counter-intelligence in the military and it has been considered an important part of warfare since the beginning of time. You cannot afford the luxury of just leaving your opponent be and not letting yourself be read. Reading the opposition is one of the most important things in poker. Successful play is about learning all the time and constantly being on the lookout for those little tid-bits of information released by opponents and constantly keeping several channels of communication open at all times. You watch opponents, you pick up certain tells, you draw your conclusions and then you double check your results come showdown-time. This way you’ll catch on to the process of reading your opponent, collecting precious clues regarding the strength of his hand and and watching whether your opponent uses the check/fold button.