How often when playing Texas Holdem poker do you say to yourself at the end of a hand, "boy I should have seen that one coming." Hopefully, not too often but probably more than you should. Many players will telegraph their holdings, and all you need to do is stay aware and you can learn what they have as the hand progresses.

At times, players betting patterns will be their biggest tell. Some players only bet a lot of money when they are extremely confident in their hand. This type of betting pattern indicates that my hand is best and I have no fear of being called. Other players will routinely make small bets when they have a monster because they are terrified that no one will call. These small bets will often entice players to stay in the hand because they may be getting decent odds for a drawing hand. But, when the drawing player catches their hand, the slow-betting player will consider it a bad beat when it wasn't that at all.

Conversely, some players will make large bets only when their hand is weak. This is done in an attempt to scare everyone out of the pot. Some players will even routinely try the all-in move to scare players away. This is a powerful move, because it says that "I am willing to showdown my hand if you call." If a player does this over and over again, smart players will wait for the perfect opportunity to call and knock the reckless player out of the tournament. The all-in bluff is not a tactic that you should routinely pull from your arsenal. Typically, when you move in with all your money, you want to be holding the best hand.

Another pattern you may find is players routinely making a bet on the flop, regardless of the cards that show up … high cards, low cards, a pair. However, when they are called, they show weakness by not betting again on the turn. Or, when raised, they throw their hand away. What does it mean if they call the raise? It again depends on the player, but often times they will be holding a real hand. The definition of a "real hand" is another question that varies from player to player, and can only be learned through observation.

One of the keys to Texas Holdem poker is learning how your competition plays. If you know they are bluffing at every pot, carefully choose your spots to pick them off. Just remember to not get too focused on a single player. When you do, you lose sight of the other people at the table and may find that you yourself are playing recklessly. In a tournament structure, you may not have sufficient time to learn what you need about everyone at the table. In these situations, play your "A Game" and let your poker skills do the rest.