You’ll probably realize very quickly after you’ve started your poker career that the level of your opponents is crucial to making money and being successful at poker. Whole books have been written on this subject, but we don’t want to scare you or intimidate you. Suffice to say that knowing your opponents and reading their moves is a skill every poker player should continually try to improve.

One of the basic ideas of opponent observation is that you should analyze your opponents as much as possible, even when you are not involved in any given pot. Always try to pick up on styles and patterns of play that can make all the difference when the game gets going, and when you yourself are involved in the pot.

One of the most common faults among inexperienced low-limit poker players is that they will see the flop in Texas Hold’em with hands they should have folded. In other words, many players tend to keep playing long after they’re beat. If you can pick up on this kind of a pattern, you should do your best to exploit it. Don’t do your opponents any favors in poker; they won’t do any favors for you.

When a poker player is playing a bad hand long after it’s been beat, they’re said to be playing “loose.” Conversely, you’ll hardly ever see a beginner low-limit Hold’em player playing too conservatively or “tightly.” Poker beginners will almost always decide to call if they have the option of either calling or folding. They came to play and it’s no fun for them to fold without calling one last final bet to see what you have. Take advantage of this beginners’ character trait.

The major difference between inexperienced low-limit players and experienced medium/high-limit players is that the latter do a lot more raising pre-flop. If you ever find yourself in a game where there is an excessive amount of raising going on with even the flimsiest of cards, that’s a sure sign you’re up against a talented player and it’s worth thinking about getting out!

One last tip: always assume your opponent is better than you until you have clear evidence to the contrary. Overconfidence is a crime in this game!