What do I mean by playing your opponent? Some of the things to consider:

• Play more hands against players with loose starting hand requirements and
fewer hands against tight players.

• Play more hands against players who play poorly after the flop.

• Don’t bluff very often against loose players and play aggressively against
tight players.

• Induce bluffs against loose aggressive players. Induce calls against tight
players.

• After the flop, tend to call, raise, and reraise your borderline hands against
aggressive, tricky opponents and fold against rocks who never bet or raise
without a strong hand.

• Note that the playing style of your opponent preflop is sometimes different
than after the flop.

• Generally try to sit to the left of maniacs and to the right of tight players.

• Mix up your strategies based on the flow of the game to keep your opponents off balance.

One of the most important things you can do at the table is distinguish between the
good players and the weak players. To take this further, you should distinguish
between tight/loose and aggressive/conservative.

When a tight player enters the pot preflop, you should call less often, especially if
they have raised. On the other hand, you can play more hands against loose
opponents. For example, if a loose player raises in early position, I might be more
inclined to play AQ than I would against a tight player- When your opponents play
poorly after the flop, you can also play more hands since they will pay you off more
when you hit a good hand.

After the flop, be very selective when you try to bluff loose players. They tend to call
a lot even with weak hands, so it is difficult to get them to fold a hand. If they are
also aggressive, you can try to induce bluffs from them since they are always trying
to bet and win the pot. On the other hand, tight players will fold their weak hands
and sometimes even top pair with a weak kicker, so bluffs and semi-bluffs have a
better chance of success. Inducing calls is also a good strategy against tight
opponents since they will probably fold to a bet with any kind of weak hand.

One important note about tight versus loose players. A player’s style can be
different after the flop than it is preflop. For example, some advanced players play a
lot of hands, but their post-flop play is excellent. Also, some tight players fall in love
with their starting hands and tend to play too loosely after the flop. Be sure to
identify each opponent’s tendencies.

Another important characteristic to look for in your opponents is whether they are
aggressive or conservative. Aggressive players tend to raise a lot and will try a lot
of deceptive plays. These players will often bluff whenever they are given an
opportunity. On the other hand, rocks and conservative players tend to only raise
with their very strong hands. You usually do not need to worry about them bluffing
very often. For example, a check-raise on the rum from a rock is very dangerous!
Tend to call or raise your borderline hands against the aggressive tricky players and
fold these hands against the, rocks or conservative players.

A good general strategy to employ after the flop is to play aggressively against tight
opponents and conservatively against loose opponents. Try to bluff your tight
opponents out of the pot. When you have a very strong hand and an aggressive
loose player is betting, sometimes you should just let them continue betting rather
than drive them out of the pot. Waiting to raise the turn or even the river is
especially effective against these players. With medium hands against these
opponents, sometimes you should raise when you feel you have the best hand to
ensure they pay a higher price for their draws. Observe your opponents and choose
the best strategy that counter-acts each opponent’s playing style.

One important lactic to help you in playing your opponent is your position at the
table relative to your opponent. For example, you want to play more hands against
poor players or maniacs; therefore, it is to your advantage to be sitting to their left.
When they enter the pot, you can play a few more hands. When you are sitting to
their right, you never know when they are going to play or raise, so you’ll have to
generally use your same tight starting hand criteria as normal. Another advantage
of sitting to their left is that you can raise or reraise to try and isolate yourself
against the poor player.

Generally it is also good to sit to the right of tight players, especially when the
overall game is relatively tight. You should have more opportunities to steal the
blinds. Your raises will tend to drive these opponents out of most of the pots. On the
flop, you can often bet out and get these types of opponents to fold. Sometimes,
however, it can be an advantage to have these types of players sitting in front of
you. If they are so tight that they only bet the very premium hands, you can easily
fold your borderline hands whenever they enter the pot.

There is one player at Paradise Poker who I love to play against for just this reason.
He is a top player who wins a lot of money; however, this player practically never
check-raises or slowplays. He always bets out his strong hands; therefore, when he
bets, I can easily fold unless I have a super strong hand also. On the other hand, if
he checks, I can try to steal the pot since I never have to worry about him checkraising.
If he was sitting on my left, I would not be able to use this valuable
information nearly as much since I would always have to act before him.

As a side note, one interesting thing about this player is that he is still able to win a
lot of money because most of his opponents are not very observant and do not
recognize this part of his game. My PokerStat software (discussed in a future
chapter) was a great help when I saw that he had only check-raised five hands out
of 5000!

Internet Tip
If you are on the Internet and want to change seats, view the lobby and see if there is a waiting list
for the game. If there is a list, there is nothing you can do. However, if no one is waiting to enter the
game, simply leave the game and then come back in so that you can select your new seat.
Sometimes missing a few hands, even if you already posted the blinds, is worth the new seat, so
don’t always wail until you have to post again before moving.

You should also mix up your strategies based on the flow of the game to keep your
opponents off balance. For example, if you have check-raised the same opponent a
few times in a row with a strong hand, you might try betting out the next time. He
might then suspect that you are on a bluff and may play back at you. On the other
hand, if you have bet out a few strong hands several times in a row, you might want
to check-raise.

Another tiling to be aware of is the different moods of your opponents. An
opponent’s mood can change his playing style so always be looking for changes,
this is especially true against regular opponents you play often.
Playing your opponent is an important skill to raise your game to an advanced level.
Poker is not meant to be played using a formula. Observe your opponents and
recognize their strengths and weaknesses so that you can use this knowledge
against them. Knowledge equals opportunity!