Profiling Opponents At the Table

Without a doubt, one of the best things about using poker calculator software is that you are in the fortunate position of being able to create profiles for each of the players you happen to be playing against, which means you can then classify them accordingly based on their historical data.  You can start collecting data from the moment you sit at a table, but in reality how much data do you need to collect before it starts to become usable?

A common mistake made by online poker rookies is that they end up profiling their adversaries too quickly, and they also rely too heavily upon the results that they receive from the poker software. It is important to appreciate that these machines are far from perfect, and that ultimately, you should take any and all results returned by these people with a pinch of salt.

The problem with the software is that it does not give you the background information to an opponent and so this is risky. A normally cautious and overly placid player may end up appearing to be more aggressive than they actually merely because he has had a run of victories over a period of time. The opposite also runs equally true.

In these sort of situations, especially when you find that the implied odds in question are fairly limited, it is a good idea to take a step back and try and find a less risky out. You do not have an accurate picture of your foe and this is dangerous in the extreme, and so you need to make sure you actually know who you are dealing with. You need to stalk your prey and learn how they react in different situations of all descriptions.

I personally like to see a minimum of around fifteen hands before I make any sort of decision, but the more hands I see the better the final result. In a tournament, time is against you and so you will need to carefully balance the need for caution with speed. Hopefully you will have a better idea of how to deal with your opponents and how they handle their positional plays.