Poker Hand Reading: It's Not Magic

Poker professionals might make hand reading look like magic on TV but it’s actually a skill that anyone can learn. Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to hand reading than looking into someone’s eyes and reading their soul. Hand reading is a process that uses logic and deduction to narrow down an opponent’s hand range to a manageable number of possibilities.

The goal of hand reading isn’t to get a perfect read of your opponent’s hand every time. The goal is simply to determine your opponent’s most likely hand(s) and act accordingly. Over time, you’ll get better at putting your opponents on hands and you’ll start to look like a master hand reader as well. All it takes is a little practice.

Assume Your Opponents are Logical Human Beings

Your opponents may be full of surprises but they are usually rational, logical human beings at heart. Know that for every action your opponent takes, there’s a reason why he thinks that’s the best action. Put yourself in your opponent’s place and ask yourself what kind of cards would make you act the same way.

For example, if your opponent places a preflop raise from early position, you know there’s a good possibility your opponent has a strong hand. For the most part, rational poker players don’t raise with weak hands from early position. There are always exceptions, of course, but you’re not trying to account for every single remote possibility. All you want to do is figure out which hands are the most likely.

In another example, let’s say your opponent limps in before the flop, calls a bet on the flop and then makes another call on the turn. If your opponent is a logical human being, those actions probably mean one of three things:

1. Your opponent has a draw
2. Your opponent has a marginal hand
3. Your opponent is slow playing a strong hand

Yes, there are other possibilities such as some sort of complex bluff but it’s not worth worrying about the long shot possibilities. Just keep collecting evidence and adjust your estimates as the hand plays through. By the end of the hand, most of your opponent’s actions will point towards one of a few possibilities. From there, you’ll have a much easier time making the correct plays.

Read the Board

The board will also help you narrow down the types of hands your opponents have. For example, an opponent making repeated calls on a draw heavy board probably has a draw. Once again, it’s important to see through your opponents’ eyes. Ask yourself what type of cards, in conjunction with this particular board, would make you act in the same way.

Let’s use another simple example to illustrate this concept: let’s say the board has two spades on it and your opponent calls on both the flop and the turn. On the river, a third spade hits and your opponent suddenly throws out a big bet. The first thing you would think would be that your opponent was chasing a flush and finally hit it on the river.

In most cases, that would be exactly what happened. There are times when your opponent would bluff in that situation, of course, but we’re just trying to figure out the most likely scenario. In this case, a completed flush draw is the most likely answer.

Make a List of Possibilities and Act Accordingly

Once you’ve taken your opponent’s betting patterns and the board texture into consideration, you should have a short list of possible hands. At this point, you’ll have to pick which hand is the most likely and then make your decision. The more you practice your hand reading skills, the better you’ll get.