How To Gain An Immediate Edge Over Your Opponents

The trick to WINNING POKER is to always be at least ONE STEP
AHEAD of your opponents...

To be one step ahead, it helps to understand the COMMON
EXPERIENCES and thoughts that every poker player goes
through.

It seems there are three distinct LEVELS of poker
intelligence. Knowing which level your opponent falls under
can be a MAJOR ADVANTAGE for you at the table...

I call these the "Three Stages of Sophistication".

As you read these, think about the guys you play cards with.

Think about what level they're at... AND... think about
which stage YOU ARE IN right now. It will help tremendously.

Here they are...


STAGE 1: Analyzing the CARDS.

This is when a player focuses his mental energies strictly
on the cards.

This is someone who waits to play only premium hands, and
perhaps spends a lot of time calculating "pot odds".

Usually, this type of guy plays TIGHT, and is fairly "see
through". He'd be better off playing LIMIT Texas Holdem
rather than NO LIMIT.


STAGE 2: Analyzing the PLAYERS.

This is the person who understands that to win at no limit
Holdem, you've got to PLAY THE PLAYERS, not just the cards.

This is the guy who sits there all night and STUDIES your
every move. He's convinced that there are "secret" tells
behind every player...

And he'll do ANYTHING to figure them out.

You can spot a player like this just by watching him when
the cards come out. If he's watching YOU, rather than
looking at his cards, then he's probably in the second stage
of sophistication.


STAGE 3: Analyzing how players will analyze YOU.

Stage 1 players are easy to beat. You can bluff them out of
big pots, rile them up, and then sit back until you catch a
monster and put them all in...

It's like taking candy from a baby.

Stage 2 players are harder to beat, because they understand
the Cardinal Rule of no-limit Holdem, which is to...

PLAY THE PLAYERS, NOT THE CARDS.

You can't always push them around at the table, which means
you have to devise a different strategy...

Which is why Stage 3 is so powerful.

Because when you're a Stage 3 player, you KNOW that the
Stage 2 player is analyzing you. And you simply stay ONE
STEP AHEAD of him.

A Stage 3 player is someone who gets pocket Aces before the
flop and takes FOREVER to call a pre-flop raise.

Why?

Because by taking his time and making it LOOK like he's
contemplating a decision, the Stage 3 player knows HIS
OPPONENTS WILL THINK THEY CAN BLUFF HIM out of the hand.

Sure enough, after the flop one of the STAGE 2 players will
go all-in... trying to buy the pot... not knowing they just
fell right into the Stage 3 player's trap.

To be a Stage 3 player, you've got to ADOPT YOUR STYLE OF
PLAY ACCORDING TO WHAT THE OTHER PLAYERS THINK ABOUT YOU.

That's the key.

Here's an example that happened to me recently...

I was in a local game with a bunch of friends and players
who know me well.

I've built up a reputation in my town for being an
AGGRESSIVE player at the table... who's always pushing
around the action and throwing out feeler bets.

In addition to being aggressive, people also know me as a
BLUFFER. My buddies have seen me push my entire stack into
the middle on a 2-7 offsuit... when I can't even beat the
board.

And they've seen this happen MORE THAN ONCE.

This reputation has a TREMENDOUS IMPACT on my strategies at
the table. And I can use this "image" to my advantage.

In this particular example, I was dealt pocket 3's while on
the button. Three of my opponents limped in and the action
was to me.

I liked my positioning, so I decided to throw out a pre-flop
raise in hopes of spiking a three.

"Make it $20 to play", I said.

This was a rather large bet with respect to pot size, but I
did it for a reason. I wanted to either STEAL THE BLINDS by
forcing everyone to fold, or create heads-up action... which
would give my small pocket pair better odds at winning.

Anyway, Blake was the only player to call my bet, so I was
feeling pretty good about my chances.

The flop came out:

A-4-3

All different suits.

Fantastic. I just spiked my three... which gives me trips.
AND there's an Ace on the board.

Blake checks.

Now here's where I have to make a decision...

Do I slow-play the hand by checking right behind him?

The answer is NO.

Because like I said, I have a reputation with these guys.
They know I bluff a lot, so they'll usually give me a lot of
action.

So instead of slow-playing, I actually OVER-BET the pot in
this situation...

Blake called my large pre-flop raise... and now there's an
Ace on the board. So he's probably sitting on a hand like
A-J or A-Q and thinks that HE is slow-playing ME.

"Seventy-five to play", I say in a very arrogant tone. (This
was a large bet for this particular game.)

Blake-- who is a Stage 2 player-- thinks I'm pushing him
around. He's sitting on about $300 in chips and decides to
go all-in.

EXACTLY what I wanted.

I call, and throw over my threes.

He throws over A-9 off-suit.

And sure enough, I took the pot down. All because I was ONE
STEP AHEAD of him...

I KNEW that he was analyzing me and putting me on a bluff,
so I reeled him in by "over-betting" the pot with a touch of
arrogance.

Of course, I didn't always know how to do this.

I can remember a hand I once played COMPLETELY WRONG on a
riverboat in St. Louis.

This was when I was first really "getting into" poker. The
guys on the riverboat didn't know me... so they weren't
familiar with my style of play.

They didn't know I was a very aggressive player who often
bluffed. (Which I was, even back then.)

It was the second or third hand of the night and I was dealt
pocket 6's. One of my opponents made it $10 to play and I
was the only one to call his bet.

I spiked my six on the flop... which means I had
three-of-a-kind.

My opponent was first to act and threw out another $10 bet.
The action was to me.

Unfortunately, I was only focused on my cards and my
opponent. I was between levels 1 and 2 of the "Three Stages
of Sophistication."

I figured he had a strong hand since he'd raised the pot
twice... and I was excited as hell about my three 6's.

So without hesitation, I made a raise.

"I raise you $40", I said... in the same "pushy" tone I'd
use with my buddies.

My opponent thought about it for a moment and then mucked
his cards.

I had COMPLETELY misplayed the hand... and all I made with
my monster was a lousy 20 bucks.

The MISTAKE I'd made was failing to adjust my style of play
to WHAT MY OPPONENT WAS THINKING ABOUT ME.

Back at home, I would've gotten a call with my $40 raise.

But not on this riverboat.

Because on the riverboat, my opponents didn't know me...
they didn't have a "read" on my style... and we were only a
few hands into the game.

For all they knew, I could've been an extremely TIGHT
player... just like most of the young guys they show up on
the riverboats.

Anyway, the lesson I learned is this:

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR OPPONENTS ARE THINKING.

Do they see you as tight, aggressive, reckless, bad, good,
crazy...?

See the game through the eyes of your opponents, and you'll
be able to win against ANYONE, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.

A lot of pros will tell you that the only way to master
these skills is through EXPERIENCE.

But don't take this advice too seriously.

I've known guys who have played poker for 40 years and STILL
can't play worth a damn.

And I've known guys who pick the game up and after ONE YEAR
are making a FULL-TIME INCOME in card rooms across the
country...

The secret is NOT experience.

The secret is KNOWLEDGE.

What matters is how far along you are in your "poker
intelligence".

If you're young, and you understand the strategies and
techniques I share, then you can have a MAJOR ADVANTAGE over
your opponents...

Because a lot of guys will underestimate you.

If you're older... or more experienced... the exact OPPOSITE
is true. You'll be at a clear DISADVANTAGE if you're up
against someone with a higher POKER IQ than you.

The solution... no matter what your age or experience
level... is to KEEP READING MORE and STUDYING MORE about the
game.