THE WORLD'S #1 POKER MANUAL - Card Games

Poker Book, Poker Notes
11. Predicting cards and odds becomes increasingly accurate--especially in stud games--as the hand
progresses. For the more dealt cards a player knows, the more accurately he can predict what
cards remain in the deck--or how rich or lean the remaining deck is for any particular card. (The
good poker card-counter has a much greater winning advantage than the good blackjack cardcounter,
whose maximum advantage is less than 1 percent.)
12. By knowing how rich or lean the remaining deck is in various cards, a player can predict with
increasing accuracy both his own and his opponents' probabilities for drawing specific cards as
the deck diminishes. Furthermore, the observant player can often discover the actual value of
cards being dealt in two ways: First, he can often see the cards flash while being dealt or while
being picked up and handled by opponents. And second, he can discover the value of cards about
to be dealt from markings on their backs that occur during normal play--such as spots, creases,
nicks, folds, and stains.
13. Since neither total inconsistency nor total consistency is possible, all hands of all opponents
potentially can be read by the observant player.
14. Usually the more an opponent tries to hide the strength or weakness of his hand, the easier and
more accurately his hand can be read The player who never looks at his cards until his turn to bet
is often the hardest player to read, but he leaves himself with less time to plan strategy relative to
his cards.
15. Evoke giveaway reactions from opponents by hesitating before betting. Pretend the pot is light
and then count the chips to induce giveaway reactions. Also evoke card-reading or giveaway
reactions with surprise moves, unusual acts, or point-blank questions. To extract useful
information or reactions, ask opponents point-blank questions about their hand, their bet, or what
they plan to do.... Be careful not to give away your own hands or intentions through those tactics.
16. Most losers look hard for excuses to bet or bluff. When holding winning hands, provide those
excuses for them.
17. Reading bluffs of opponents offers major moneymaking opportunities. Players often reveal pathand
bluffs by not looking at their cards long enough to assure themselves of pat hands. When
bluffing, many players try to project confidence and strength with fast bets or by feigning
relaxation or cheerfulness. Also, players who back out of bluffs early in a hand will often try to
bluff again within the next few hands.
18. The purpose of every bluff should be to win the pot. The advertising value of a bluff is only a
secondary benefit.
19. In early developed bluffs, make players believe that they must improve their hands to win. In
general, cancel bluff plans if opponents do improve their hands.
20. To reinforce a loose-player image, never admit to folding good hands and generally show weak
hands that win. Never reveal poker skills or the ability to read opponents' hands by betting too
confidently, by folding too quickly, by giving "lessons," or by explaining strategy.
21. Fiction and movies like The Cincinnati Kid offer cliched and misleading views of poker,
cheating, and good players. In reality, prosperous good players are not flamboyant "big-man"
types. Instead, they strive to appear mundane. They are nonfamous. They are Clark Kents. They
are stealthy and clandestine. Moreover, they play wide-open, fast-paced games--not five-card
stud. And they never need to look under tables or examine overhead lamps to protect themselves
from cheating. The stereotyped, fictionalized, and romanticized views of poker and good players
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