Battles are often won or lost on the basis of intelligence about your opponents; poker is no different. Here’s a suggestion: play ‘turtle’ for the first few hands – draw back into your shell, and use the opportunity to size up the competition.

You should learn to identify your opponents’ playing style. There are generally three types of players at the poker tables: the fish who are in the game to play and enjoy themselves; the skilled players who are in the game to win; and those on ‘tilt’.

Playing with the Fish and the Player on Tilt

Rule of thumb: mind games are generally wasted on the fish. They are in the game to enjoy themselves; they bluff when it suits them (which is rare), they are tenacious when they have strong hands and they’re quick to fold when they have bad cards or when confronted. They play very literal poker – strong hands should be played and weak hands should be folded. Thus, mind games with such players are usually restricted to making the fish fold even when they have marginally good hands.

Players on tilt make wonderful victims when you have strong hands. They are generally unstable, they are usually undisciplined and they typically take a lot of risks. However, be careful, too, as you may lose your chips in a hand where the tilting player actually has a better hand than yours.

Do not desert good sense for easy pickings. If you bluff frequently just so you can bait the fish and provoke the players on tilt, you are going to get found out by the skilled players.

Mind Games with the Aggressive Players

Direct your attention towards the ‘real’ players at the table – those who actually study the odds and their opponents’ behavior to maximize their earnings. They’re not out to win incidental pots but are determined to win the game. They’ll do this by testing the limits of play – yours, especially.

In fact, they’ll be playing their own mind games against you – trying to force you into joining the fish (in which case, they’ve ‘won’) or even pushing you into the ‘tilt’ zone (e.g. making you lose your cool). The best way to play against these players is to play cool and switch your style of play to confuse them.

Don’t establish a pattern to your playing style. Change the timing of your raises or bluffs – raise at the flop in one hand, bluff on the pot on the next, lie low for a hand or two, and then bluff at an unexpected point. Also, keep changing your betting approach, just to confuse them. Keep in mind that the really good players win poker by making it costly for their opponents to remain in the game.