By now, anyone who has read their share of poker strategy articles or even picked up a poker strategy book knows that the game has quite a bit to do with knowing your opponents.
But one thing most people don’t realize is that their opponents are at different levels of thinking when it comes to playing hands. Some people can’t get past their own cards while others are experienced enough to analyze every little detail about the game.
First Level
When it comes to playing the lower limits in poker, you’ll find a lot of first level players who fall into the aforementioned class of not being able to look past their own cards. Some of these people may be starting out with the game while others just play for fun and don’t want to delve too deeply into poker strategy. Whatever the case may be, these are the easiest players to beat since they only look at their own hands.
Second Level
Those at the second level of poker thinking are a little tougher to deal with since they not only know what hands are good to play, but they also think about what hand you might hold as well. The game gets a lot harder when you’ve got an experienced player who knows enough to fold a second rate hand when they’re beat. Likewise, second level players often have a good indication of when they have you beat too.
Third Level
At the top rung of poker thinking is the third level players who not only take into account both their own and your hand, but also they consider what you think they have. This is when poker really becomes a thinking game with an opponent who is savvy enough to understand what your perception of their hand is.
You should avoid playing against third level, and even second level, players until you’ve acquired the skills to read opponent’s hands and consider what they think you have.
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