Understanding Betting Patterns

Understanding your opponents betting patterns is crucial to your success in poker tournaments or cash games. Recognizing when someone is bluffing or actually has it can many times be determined by betting patterns. If you are playing online poker betting patterns are the only tell that you have on your opponents most of the time.

What is a betting pattern?

A betting pattern is determined by how your opponent is betting his hands along with what position he is betting them from. By understanding betting patterns it allows you to narrow down the range of hands your opponent may be playing. Understanding betting patterns also allows you opportunities to win pots that you may not have won otherwise.

One of the things I like to take note of immediately is how players raise from early, middle, and late positions. Playing online poker you are likely to see a wide variety of betting styles and patterns. You are likely to see a much wider range of betting patterns playing online poker than you will in live cash games. However, I have seen minimum raises with pocket Aces and Kings many times from players under the gun hoping to be re-raised. This is a common ploy that is used quite often. However, most of the time when someone raises from early position they have a fairly strong hand and I make note of it accordingly.

Middle position plays out a little closer to normal online and is a bit easier to identify in terms of hand ranges. Late position is much like early position though. You are likely to see button raises with just about anything and in some cases you need to be extremely wary. There are players that will raise the button no matter what they are holding. You need to be able to identify those players betting patterns and play back at them when the opportunity presents itself. Otherwise, you may be in for a long day.

  Once the flop hits is where you get into the meat and potatoes of understanding betting patterns. I want to know a few things about my opponent after the flop.  

1. Does he make continuation bets when he misses the flop?
2. Will he fire again on Fourth Street with nothing?
3. Does he know when he is beat and will fold?

  If I can determine these three questions within the course of the first fifteen minutes to half-an-hour of the tournament I believe I have a distinct advantage over opponents that are simply playing their cards.   Another thing I can learn from betting patterns is how my opponents play when they have the nutz. Yes, whether I am part of the hand or not I need to know how my opponent will bet the best hand.  

1. Does he check the flop?
2. Does he always check-raise after the flop?
3. Does he like to slow play no matter how dangerous the board?
4. Does he prefer to play small or large pots?

  Again, these are questions that can easily be answered in the first half-an-hour or so of any tournament or cash game. You can then devise your strategy to counter the player type you happen to be in a hand against and use that information accordingly.   Play smart, pay attention, and you will reap the benefits of understanding betting patterns.