As simple as the rules may be in poker, the game itself is amazingly complex. Most of its complexity is a result of the fact that it is a game of imperfect information – although you know your opponents actions, you do not know what his actual hole cards are. Things become even more intricate as players apply psychology. Poker’s basis on imperfect information is what separates it from other games such as chess and even backgammon, because in those games both opponents have the same information and decisions are much less about the psychology of the game than they are about the strategy and math aspects. Since we can’t see our opponent’s hole cards, we as players are constantly looking for reads and tells from our opponents as to what they might be holding in a particular hand. Based on our previous experiences with the player and their actions during the hand, we attempt to determine their hand “range”, or what possible hands they could be holding. For poker’s top players, an opponent’s perceived range is constantly changing based on the information they gather. At the same time, these players try to manipulate their opponents into thinking that their own range is much bigger or smaller than it actually is, depending on the current situation. These players try to sell a story with their betting amounts, physical actions, and overall demeanor in an attempt to trick their opponents into making wrong assumptions, which, in turn, leads to more errors by their opponents.

Here is an example. Imagine you have been playing very tight for the first three levels of a tournament. You have played very few hands and the only hand you have tabled was pocket kings, winning at showdown.

At this point you know your opponents have labeled you a nit, a very patient player who only plays premium hands. Perfect! You have now created a great opportunity to exploit your image and have your opponents make a mistake against you regarding your hand range. Now, when the second level of antes kicks in, you are dealt J♣9♣ in middle position and it is folded to you. You make your standard raise and due to your actions over the prior two hours, your opponents could never include J♣9♣ in the range of hands you could be raising with. In fact, their perception of your range would probably be something like J-J to A-A and A-K. Most likely you will successfully just steal the blinds with this play, and even if you do get called, a 60% pot bet on the fl op will probably take it down. You have just successfully manipulated your opponents into making a gross error in the range that they put you on, causing them to make decisions based on very bad information. After doing this several times, maybe you eventually show down a marginal starting hand, which will immediately cause your opponents to adjust your range of hands the next few times they play in a pot with you. So now you tighten up again and allow them to make the error of putting you on too broad a range of hands, creating another opportunity to exploit their perception of the hands you are playing. If you work on being constantly aware of how players perceive you, you will find that you can create more opportunities for mistakes by your opponents, increasing your chances of being successful. If you can master the art of misinformation, you will be well on your way to becoming an amazing poker player.

(Brett “gank” Jungblut operates and teaches at www.ProPokerSchool.com, the only world class training site that offers all of its content 100% free of charge!)