How To Gain An Immediate Edge Over Your Opponents


The trick to WINNING POKER is to always be at least ONE STEP
AHEAD of your opponents...

To be one step ahead, it helps to understand the COMMON
EXPERIENCES and thoughts that every poker player goes
through.

It seems there are three distinct LEVELS of poker
intelligence. Knowing which level your opponent falls under
can be a MAJOR ADVANTAGE for you at the table...

I call these the "Three Stages of Sophistication".

As you read these, think about the guys you play cards with.

Think about what level they're at... AND... think about
which stage YOU ARE IN right now. It will help tremendously.

Here they are...


STAGE 1: Analyzing the CARDS.

This is when a player focuses his mental energies strictly
on the cards.

This is someone who waits to play only premium hands, and
perhaps spends a lot of time calculating "pot odds".

Usually, this type of guy plays TIGHT, and is fairly "see
through". He'd be better off playing LIMIT Texas Holdem
rather than NO LIMIT.


STAGE 2: Analyzing the PLAYERS.

This is the person who understands that to win at no limit
Holdem, you've got to PLAY THE PLAYERS, not just the cards.

This is the guy who sits there all night and STUDIES your
every move. He's convinced that there are "secret" tells
behind every player...

And he'll do ANYTHING to figure them out.

You can spot a player like this just by watching him when
the cards come out. If he's watching YOU, rather than
looking at his cards, then he's probably in the second stage
of sophistication.


STAGE 3: Analyzing how players will analyze YOU.

Stage 1 players are easy to beat. You can bluff them out of
big pots, rile them up, and then sit back until you catch a
monster and put them all in...

It's like taking candy from a baby.

Stage 2 players are harder to beat, because they understand
the Cardinal Rule of no-limit Holdem, which is to...

PLAY THE PLAYERS, NOT THE CARDS.

You can't always push them around at the table, which means
you have to devise a different strategy...

Which is why Stage 3 is so powerful.

Because when you're a Stage 3 player, you KNOW that the
Stage 2 player is analyzing you. And you simply stay ONE
STEP AHEAD of him.

A Stage 3 player is someone who gets pocket Aces before the
flop and takes FOREVER to call a pre-flop raise.

Why?

Because by taking his time and making it LOOK like he's
contemplating a decision, the Stage 3 player knows HIS
OPPONENTS WILL THINK THEY CAN BLUFF HIM out of the hand.

Sure enough, after the flop one of the STAGE 2 players will
go all-in... trying to buy the pot... not knowing they just
fell right into the Stage 3 player's trap.

To be a Stage 3 player, you've got to ADOPT YOUR STYLE OF
PLAY ACCORDING TO WHAT THE OTHER PLAYERS THINK ABOUT YOU.