Here is a topic much less discussed, I would like to get better at it, after doing some mental game work, it seems clear, that I am not that skilled in recognising when my opponent's played well against me, instead I assume they are a fish :f_biggrin:, (im sure im not the only one.) This could also block learning from potentially better players.
Im asking for advice and tips in how to better this skill.
Peace!
When you play several hands against the same opponent and find yourself in tough spots vs him and start to feel like he is exploiting you. + stats.
Originally posted by FrozenElf
it seems clear, that I am not that skilled in recognising when my opponent's played well against me, instead I assume they are a fish
Play at higher stakes 
That's all great an all, but not quite what im asking :f_biggrin:, i am trying to spot my opponants skill, so i can learn when he is actually beating me, and its not variance, i don't have a bankroll for high games, + ill just get my ass kicked and say "i got unlucky" 
if your opponent is constantly doing something that's annoying you, he is probably doing something well.
Classic example: 1/3 pot cbetting on every flop
Originally posted by mbml
if your opponent is constantly doing something that's annoying you, he is probably doing something well.Classic example: 1/3 pot cbetting on every flop
That makes perfect sense, since the feeling of being annoyed by what he is doing would be probably blocking a weakness
FrozenElf
What i like to do in most situations that i find myself in is to put myself in their position. So if i'm passive too much he will he pleased. If im agressive to my opponents they will start to feel displeased. You can practice this by doing something to only one player at the table. Example: everytime your targeted player is BB you raise him, and soon enough he will feel it and start reacting differently, than you can catch him with some good hands. It also depends, if someone just does not care you can always steal from him and earn something. I started doing this with one player only then you move up to 2 players, and know how they feel and what they do. Good luck!
Good question. These kind off my games are my favorites
1 is he trying to isolate
2 positions he exploits you from
3 is he trying too steal
4 are you folding too often
You have too try different tafics
Play his game against him
I think skill of recognizing skill of your opponent comes together from all other poker skills (or most of them). [And the truth is it is (as many thing in poker) uncertain thing - so you are using your educated guess thats all.] You gotta imagine different kinds of people. There are players who are fun of poker, watch poker on tv, play it in pubs with friends and got some basics done. And now try to imagine of what plays is he capable of. It is not easy thing to do. Other players are 1 level up from that and they read some articles, watched some videos, sometimes they go through poker forums, but still they don't know many tricks and concepts. Again, try to imagine the way he plays. After you imagine how different types of guys could play, you have to compare it to what you already know, because you can't compare it to strategies and concepts you don't know. And you go from that point I guess.
Its usually pretty obvious if someone is a fish or not. And regarding regular players u need a significant sample to judge if hes better than u or not.
And even if u have a big samplesize, u can usually only find certain weak spots in his game and then you would need to compare them to your weak spots and then judge if hes overall better or worse....but what does that for u? Try to exploit him as good as possible and try not to be exploitable urself. And even if he outplayed u, or u him, in a certain spot doesn t mean one of u is better or worse.
One mistake I frequently see in the forums is that players peg an opponent as a fish and then also assume that the opponents hate money and takes that as an excuse for getting it in with bad cards. (Who's really the fish?) Respect opponents. They may have sub-optimal tactics, but they aren't stupid and may get good cards from time to time. That sub-optimal tactics can turn out to be optimal against you if you aren't careful:)
To determine whether a play is good or bad against you, you have to know your own strategy very well. This allows you to (approximately) compare the EVs of Villain's choices against your strategy and see if he made the best play.
Btw, it doesn't matter if your opponent is a fish or a reg. Fish can also make good exploitative plays against your strategy without even realizing what they're doing.
I agree with the one above. In order to know someone well you first need to get to know yourself really well. The question is not necessarily wrong but when people constantly refer to other topics, perhaps you should take the question to a different angle..
