POKER SKILLS: Betting Patterns

Betting Patterns are a Goldmine of Information

By Scott Paterson


Betting patterns can often reveal what your opponents
are holding. They are by far the most reliable tell
in poker because everyone must bet at some point
and because creating patterns is human nature
(players do mix up their play, but often play the same
hands the same way because it’s “safe” and “correct”).

In order to successfully put the pieces of the puzzle
together you must pay a great deal of attention
as the hand proceeds, and then work quickly to
reconstruct the action when cards are shown down.
When a player shows down you want to ask yourself
questions such as:

1. Did this player limp or raise preflop?
From what position? How many other players entered
the pot first? Did they limp or raise in front of the player
in question?

2. Did this player bet the flop? If so were they betting
top/middle/bottom pair, a draw, or an overpair to the board?
Was it a stone cold bluff, or a semi bluff? Did they check
a legitimate hand hoping to trap an aggressive opponent?

3. Did this player bet or check the turn? If they bet was
their hand complete, or were they drawing to a winning hand
at that point? Was it a bluff? If they checked was it out of
weakness or strength?

4. What happened on the river ? (ask yourself similar
questions to the ones you asked after the turn)

Of course these questions are only a fraction of
the ones you could ask yourself. There are literally
millions of ways a hand could unfold depending
on the cards, the number of players in the hand,
and the styles of the players involved. A few betting
patterns occur frequently enough as to be easily
recognizable.

Raise, Bet, Check - The player raises pre-flop.
He bets the flop. Then he checks the turn after his
flop bet is called because he only has one card left
to hit one of his six outs. This betting pattern is very
common. Think of it as the AK or two big overcard hand.

Call, Check-Call, Raise - The player calls pre-flop.
He checks the flop and calls an opponent's bet.
Then he raises the turn. Think of it as a drawing hand
that has been completed on the turn. Also watch carefully
if the turn card matches the bottom or middle flop card.

All Check-Raises – This (unless your opponent is
very aggressive)
is a betting pattern of great strength. You should proceed
very carefully when you are check raised repeatedly
because you are almost always behind in the hand.

Another thing to watch carefully is Betting Amounts.
Frequently players will bet the same amounts with
the same hands (or similar hands). Some players
always raise the same amount preflop with big pocket
pairs (usually measured in relation to the big blind).
Some players underbet the pot with big hands hoping
to get called, and some players underbet the pot to
represent a big hand. Some players overbet the pot
to scare opponents away because they possess a
weak hand, and some players overbet the pot hoping
they appear weak.