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July 19th, 2008
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As players gain experience in texas holdem, they oftentimes begin playing a wider variety of people during their games. What beginner and even intermediate poker players don’t fully realize is that the people at certain tables are more often than not widely varied in skill levels, and choosing the proper tables to sit at will lead towards greater profits and a better overall time while actually playing cards. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is no matter your own poker skill; your winnings will always depend on the skill of those playing with you. Keeping this in mind, I will go over the different aspects of poker players to watch, and from this how one should decide whether to play at that table or to leave it.


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Player Types
As most people know, there are many different types of players in Holdem. Therefore I won’t be going over in detail the types of players, but rather the types of players you want to be playing with. As a rule of thumb, I try to look for the following at a table that I join:


1. ‘Straight’ Players – These are the players that will play what the textbook tells them to play. If they have a nice hand they bet high, if it’s weak they fold, and there’s usually very little grey in between. Players such as these are very easy to read, which means if they bet high, get out.


2. Limpers – Limpers are players who are afraid to raise bets, but will often call them in hopes of finding their next card. Limpers are known for being an incredibly easy source of money, and most of the time a well played large bet will push them out of the pot.


3. Open Players – Usually you will find these players at a home game. They will often show the hands they’ve lost or won on, giving you a great advantage in reading their moves. Observing the cards they are playing in games will give you a good idea of what they like or don’t like to play.


On the other hand, these are usually signs that you don’t want to be at your table:
1. Wild Betters – These are probably the most dangerous players in Holdem. Bluffing almost never works against them, as well as semi-bluffing, essentially ruining the strategy in the game. As well, they will more often than throw off a player’s game just by participating in a pot.


2. Very Weak Players – Most of the time a player that is inexperienced is an easy target. What a player should watch out for though is ones that are too new to poker to really be readable. A common situation a player will run into is where your betting in a pot where you’re read on the weak player is totally opposite of what they have.


3. Varied Table – This one is a bit more obvious gathering from the previous two examples. While usually it’s not too much of a trouble to deal with one tight or loose player, if you are playing with multiple, it becomes very easy to mismanage your poker playing.


Online Play and Conclusion
As a short note, online poker is an especially good place to get a grasp for different player types and table selections. As you get a real general view of the table while playing online, I highly recommend watching a table’s players for the above characteristics before jumping in and playing with them. If you use this article as a checklist before playing and during checking, you should find that your winnings will increase depending on the strength table selections. In reflection, table selection really comes down to profiling each player at the table and deciding whether you know you can play well against them. With this article as a supplement to your own knowledge about how you like to play poker, anyone should be able to gain better insight into which tables they are best playing at, and what to watch for in the players at those tables.
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Resources
Play Texas Holdem Online
Table Selection in Texas Holdem