Against Weak Players (reading them)

Ok.. Ive gotten somewhat uncanny about reading players and their cards by bet amounts and tells... I run into a severe problem when I play against weaker players.
When Im up against weaker players at the table everyone looks at their cards at the same time instead of trying to get reads on other players then looking at their cards when its their turn to play.
Let me explain in more detail: this happens more when Im playing against a table full of weaker to average players such as a home game or club tourney etc. I'll either be on the button or in the big blind and start looking at everyone else reacting to their cards but everyone looks at the same time...right after they get them so its hard to look at everyone at once..... any suggestions?

I think you've been watching too much poker on TV. If you are playing against weak players, you don't need to look at them as they look at their hole cards to pick up tells. That's more or less a waste of energy IMO.

Just watch their betting actions for a few rounds to find out who is a calling station, who is a maniac, who is a rock, who is a solid player, etc... Value bet into the calling stations, trap the maniacs, avoid the rocks, and be wary of the solid players. Just ABC poker here, no need to pick up small unreliable tells that they may or may not be giving off.

Some bad weak players will look really unhappy about a bet you make, thereby encouraging you to make another bigger bet.

But no one I've ever played with gives away hand strength during the initial look at their cards.

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If you are playing against weak players, you don't need to look at them as they look at their hole cards to pick up tells. That's more or less a waste of energy IMO

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Well I appriciate the response but weak players give off some of the easiest tells to pick up on and I have about 1/2 the field I play with read but cant get a read on them when they all look at the same time.

I do also watch betting habbits etc. but some of these players like to check raise and go all in with absolutley nothing so in those instances it would be great to know what they have ahead of time and if Im ahead in the hand...even with that said I can still tell most of the time when they are going all in if they have it or if my middle pair are ahead just by the over agressiveness and the way they place chips all in...nuf said in terms of that but as u may or may not know with a field of weak players often you just get called when being the 1st to act instead of raised while they continually try and draw out on u by the way size of the bet doesnt matter so please dont include that in a response, I a fully seasoned and know all about pot odds, figuring outs, etc etc.

the best tell I ever found was I was playing against a weak player HU, it got to the river after I had bet the flop, but checked the turn, she reached for chips when the river came, but then said "I can't do it". so I bet and she folded. very good tell.

I would suggest watching the ones nearest you first, then the ones further away next. Also, try and find those that you don't really need to watch when they look at their cards. The straightforward players. They do exist, and the very fact that they have made a bet tells you all you need to know about their hand.

very nice... thank you... that last helps out a little ur right there are some betters that only play their hands and on the occasion will throw down a bluff. I think I'll position myself better at the table to be able to watch the bluffers more.

Since you can't watch everyone, just concentrate on a few opponents. But whom?

In theory, you should watch the players to your left, as their actions will be the most uncertain to you given that you act before them.

In practice, it's probably best just to figure out who gives up the most information and watch them.

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Originally Posted by bigslickAsKs

Well I appriciate the response but weak players give off some of the easiest tells to pick up on and I have about 1/2 the field I play with read but cant get a read on them when they all look at the same time.

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Okay, that's fair. It's just that in my experience trying to pick up on tells when people look at their hole cards is mostly fruitless and potentially unreliable/misleading, and I'd rather spend my energy in different ways. But I don't usually play live games so maybe it's just a small sample size skewing my opinion.

Look at the faces of the biggest donators?..