The Four Betting Patterns That Give Your Opponents Away

Things you will learn:

• Recognising betting patterns
• Using these patterns to give you an advantage in knowing when to raise or fold

If you’re only paying attention to the cards that get dealt, you’re missing most of the information. Watching how and when your opponents bet can give you a lot of insight into the hands they’re holding. Here are four simple tells to look out for:

The most common pattern you’ll discover in a Hold’em game is frequently checking the river.

You probably do this yourself. You’ve called the blinds before the flop, caught a hand you like (say, top pair with a good kicker) and then bet the flop and bet the turn. But when you failed to improve to three-of-a-kind or two pair on the river, you got scared and checked the river - just in case you were beat.

Well, imagine you spot an opponent who does this.

Knowing that they will check all but the very strongest of hands on the river gives you the chance to bluff them, safe in the knowledge that they will fold most hands they’re not sure about.

This betting pattern helps you know when to fold. That might seem less exciting than betting, but remember - money saved is the same as money earned!

If a player check-raises on the turn and then bets on the river, you should fold unless you have a very strong hand.

This pattern is the hallmark of a player with a good hand. This is probably the most common betting pattern displayed by players holding big hands. They quietly call the flop in the hope of getting in a check-raise on the turn; then they bet out on the river if their opponents were foolish enough to call and the river card seems benign.

Here’s how to take advantage of this betting pattern:

When someone checks pre-flop, calls the flop and then check-raises the turn you need to credit this player with a big hand that’s probably better than yours.

If you’re the target of a check-raise on the turn, throw your hand away unless you’re holding a monster (or a draw to a better hand than your opponent is likely to be holding). Many players are reluctant to throw away a hand to a check-raise. As a result of their stubborn nature, they lose money.

If you see someone who bets or raises before the flop, only to fold when he gets a look at the community cards, you can tell your opponent is a disciplined player.

He’ll probably throw away hands like a pair of Jacks whenever an overcard flops and there’s some action. He’ll probably fold A-K when the flop is small and there’s some action by other players before it is his turn to act.

You can take advantage of this in a couple of ways:

If this player sees a flop and bets, you know that he has a hand. Carefully consider whether your hand is strong enough to play.

It’s worth putting in a small bet the majority of the time. Your opponent will have missed the flop most of the time, so he’ll usually fold.

When an opponent calls the flop, calls the turn and then, out of nowhere, raises the river, it’s a clear sign your opponent is strong.

The other players feel that since they followed their opponent to the river, they may as well call a final bet. What usually happens is that they end up losing their stacks.

Don’t be suckered. Take notice the next time an opponent goes from a whisper to a roar on the river.