Bad tournament advice — here’s why
General, Tournaments
Brunson: Don’t let weak opponents escape
Entries by others, Manipulation, Motivation, Tournaments
Chip leverage: The poker myth that won’t die
Image, POKER, Strategy, Tournaments
Do you really want to play poker full time?
Bankroll, Motivation, Tournaments
Everyone is not entitled to an opinion!
Life, POKER, Tournaments
Four-color deck: Update
Events, People, POKER, Tournaments
Is eliminating players from tournaments worthwhile?
ALL (newest first), POKER, Strategy, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 013 / Tournaments
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 014 / Tournament Play
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 023 / Bellagio, Part 1
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 024 / Bellagio, Part 2
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 037 / WPP Conference
Entries by others, General, Manipulation, Motivation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 039 / WPP Conference III
Entries by others, General, Manipulation, Motivation, Other games, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 055 / WSOP 2005
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 064 / WPPC 2005
Entries by others, Hold 'em, Image, Manipulation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 073 / Bounty tournament
Entries by others, General, Online, Tells, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 075 / Irish Seminar
Entries by others, Events, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 079 / Short stacks
Entries by others, General, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 081 / Four of a kind
Entries by others, Hold 'em, Motivation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 082 / Omaha Hi/Lo Split
Entries by others, General, Tournaments
1 2 3 5

Everything is everywhere

Any Poker1 page takes you anyplace you want to go!

Poker1 

Megadex

Poker1 universe —
all in one place.

→ Collections
Special Poker1 groups

Poker1 Megadex tools

— main navigation departments —

Collections

Related groups of Poker1 content

↓ Major collections ↓

Gambling  •  Hold 'em  •  Info  •  Life beyond poker

Poker (all)  •  Poker dictionary  •  Poker psychology

Poker statistics  •  Poker strategy  •  Poker tells

Prediction*  •  Shopping  •  Zone 2*

↓ Tip collections ↓

All*  •  Gambling*  •  Life*  •  Poker*  •  Various*

↓ Contributor collections ↓

Brunson  •  Caro  •  McHaffie  •  Wiesenberg  •  Others*

↓ More collections ↓

Poker1 FAQ  •  Poker-tell videos  •  Review of poker lessons

Sunday sessions*  •  Targeted poker quizzes  •  Tuesday sessions

* Any collection followed by an asterisk ( * ) has no entries yet.

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home

Poker1 everything

Browse alphabetically

 

[a-z-listing display=”posts” post-type=”post”]

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home

Poker1 library

Content in categories

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home




≡ Content above: Poker1 Phase2a specification ≡

MCU poker tip: Know how your opponent is playing

It’s a mistake to categorize most poker players as loose or tight and respond accordingly without taking into consideration their present frame of mind. There are very few players who consistently play one rigid way.

The exceptions might be the true “rocks” who never waver, only playing their very best hands, and those rare super-loose foes who consistently show no discipline about hand selection. Aside from that, most opponents change their strategy frequently. Sometimes this is calculated and sometimes it is governed by emotions.

Notebooks

I’ve known players who keep notebooks about the way frequent opponents play. And, of course, some players use tracking software to record trends regarding their online opponents decision making. Fine.

Having a history of opponents’ play can help. But it isn’t always accurate. That’s because the poker players are often out of step with their past. Mood changes. Determination changes. Focus changes. And opponents can be playing much better or much worse at the moment then they typically have in the past.

More profitable

The important thing is to adjust your strategy to the way an opponent is playing right now. That’s usually more profitable than adapting to the way an opponent plays on average. — MC

Bad tournament advice — here’s why
General, Tournaments
Brunson: Don’t let weak opponents escape
Entries by others, Manipulation, Motivation, Tournaments
Chip leverage: The poker myth that won’t die
Image, POKER, Strategy, Tournaments
Do you really want to play poker full time?
Bankroll, Motivation, Tournaments
Everyone is not entitled to an opinion!
Life, POKER, Tournaments
Four-color deck: Update
Events, People, POKER, Tournaments
Is eliminating players from tournaments worthwhile?
ALL (newest first), POKER, Strategy, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 013 / Tournaments
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 014 / Tournament Play
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 023 / Bellagio, Part 1
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 024 / Bellagio, Part 2
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 037 / WPP Conference
Entries by others, General, Manipulation, Motivation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 039 / WPP Conference III
Entries by others, General, Manipulation, Motivation, Other games, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 055 / WSOP 2005
Entries by others, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 064 / WPPC 2005
Entries by others, Hold 'em, Image, Manipulation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 073 / Bounty tournament
Entries by others, General, Online, Tells, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 075 / Irish Seminar
Entries by others, Events, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 079 / Short stacks
Entries by others, General, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 081 / Four of a kind
Entries by others, Hold 'em, Motivation, Tournaments
McHaffie: MCU lesson 082 / Omaha Hi/Lo Split
Entries by others, General, Tournaments
1 2 3 5

Everything is everywhere

Any Poker1 page takes you anyplace you want to go!

Poker1 

Megadex

Poker1 universe —
all in one place.

→ Collections
Special Poker1 groups

Poker1 Megadex tools

— main navigation departments —

Collections

Related groups of Poker1 content

↓ Major collections ↓

Gambling  •  Hold 'em  •  Info  •  Life beyond poker

Poker (all)  •  Poker dictionary  •  Poker psychology

Poker statistics  •  Poker strategy  •  Poker tells

Prediction*  •  Shopping  •  Zone 2*

↓ Tip collections ↓

All*  •  Gambling*  •  Life*  •  Poker*  •  Various*

↓ Contributor collections ↓

Brunson  •  Caro  •  McHaffie  •  Wiesenberg  •  Others*

↓ More collections ↓

Poker1 FAQ  •  Poker-tell videos  •  Review of poker lessons

Sunday sessions*  •  Targeted poker quizzes  •  Tuesday sessions

* Any collection followed by an asterisk ( * ) has no entries yet.

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home

Poker1 everything

Browse alphabetically

 

[a-z-listing display=”posts” post-type=”post”]

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home

Poker1 library

Content in categories

A-to-Z     Library     Collections     Top     Home




≡ Content above: Poker1 Phase2a specification ≡

Published by

Mike Caro

Visit Mike on   → Twitter   ♠ OR ♠    → FaceBook

Known as the “Mad Genius of Poker,” Mike Caro is generally regarded as today's foremost authority on poker strategy, psychology, and statistics. He is the founder of Mike Caro University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy (MCU). See full bio → HERE.

6 thoughts on “MCU poker tip: Know how your opponent is playing”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let's make sure it's really you and not a bot. Please type digits (without spaces) that best match what you see. (Example: 71353)

  1. You are absolutely correct.. No argument whatsoever from me.. Thanks Mike’

  2. Hey, give Mike a “waver” on that one… (we read him for his poker, not his punctuation)

    1. Hi, Elliott —

      I corrected the error that Jake tried to alert me about last December. I didn’t see his comment until now. It was your comment that brought his to my attention.

      Thanks for joining our Poker1 family.

      Straight Flushes,
      Mike Caro

  3. There's a typo in the second paragraph; "waiver" should be "waver," I imagine. Great tip!!! Thank you as always.

    1. Hi, Jake —

      Here’s a way-late thank you for catching that spelling/usage error. I’ve corrected it now. I try to read all comments, but somehow I overlooked yours.

      Straight Flushes,
      Mike Caro

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let's make sure it's really you and not a bot. Please type digits (without spaces) that best match what you see. (Example: 71353)