The Science of Poker

Author: M. Mahmood
Publisher: High Stakes
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The Science of Poker

the draw? (2) How aggressive or passive is your opponent's playing strategy? (3) Your opponent's financial position. (4) Whether your rival is winning or losing and if he/she is losing would he/she throw common sense out of the window and go on tilt?

I cannot give you a comprehensive list of all the things you have to watch out for. People respond in different ways when confronted with the same situation. Only experience will tell you which aspects of your opponents' playing habits you should be alert to.

Psychology is still an art and anybody who tells you otherwise is lying through his or her teeth. You will have to observe and learn.

Probability will be dealt with comprehensively in Chapters Two, Four, Seven and Eleven. I would like to devote this chapter to a brief discussion of the other two primary skills of poker.

1. People

Generally speaking, poker players fall into the following four broad groups:

(1) Loose passive

(2) Tight passive

(3) Loose aggressive

(4) Tight aggressive.

1.1 Loose passive

Loose passive players are the salt of the earth. They are very weak opponents who have little, if any, understanding of the necessary skills for poker. As far as they are concerned, poker is a game of luck You will get paid by them handsomely when you have a hand. Furthermore, their passive playing habits will entitle their opponents to outdraw them at a low cost. In pot-limit games the size of passive players' bets is an indication of the strength of their hands. When they put in a full-sized bet, you must release your hand unless you have a good draw that is offering you profitable returns. However, if the bet is of sub-pot size, then you know that their holding is not very strong. I know one Seven-Card Stud player who might as well show me his hole cards when he makes a bet on the fourth or fifth streets. As far as he is concerned, a big pair is worth about £10, two

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