Too many novices make the mistake of just having to see. And I have some rather harsh advice for them, but sometimes the truth isn’t what you want to hear. And this one is a doozy of a money saver. Sometimes you should give your poker opponent credit instead of your chips.
Let me repeat that. Sometimes you should give your poker online opponents credit instead of your chips. Now let’s think about this. You’re in a hand and you have AQ and the board comes AK3 rainbow. You raised, your opponent reraied you and you called. You raise again, and your opponent reraises you again. What kind of hand range do you put him on? A big ace is the most logical conclusion.
Now let’s reveal a little more about this opponent. You’ve been watching him and he plays pretty tight. He’s a solid player and raises when appropriate. Now, your continuation bet has been reraised after your first raise was reraised. Do you give your opponent credit for having AK? What about A3? Well, since he’s a tight player A3 is probably out of the question. But AK seems to fit pretty nicely with his play. KK would be a plausible hand as well.
So if you get in this situation at the casino, and you have that read on your opponent, why not give him credit? It’s only to your benefit. If you continue on and find out that he is sitting on AK or KK then you’ve just wasted a lot of chips when you could have just folded. And even if your AQ was good there, just remember that there will be another chance for you to strike, and the next situation may not be as complicated and thus easier for you to increase your stack.
So give credit where it’s due, and learn to pick your battles when you have a better idea than a coinflip’s chance of winning.