[Limit Breaker]

I'm not a great player. I think I read people fairly well but definately not at a pro level. One question that has always irked me was how Matt Damon (Mike) was able to tell what each judges held in their hands just by their reactions. How realistic is this? I can generally tell when someone's on a draw and such but the way he was reading them seemed way over the top. Do top pros really read players to that degree?

[Phaetos]

Not really. That of course was all Hollywood. Now, my brother-in-law played at the boat the other night and sat next to a guy that pinpointed the exact card what everyone else was playing. He was damn good from what I hear. I suppose with enough years behind you, patience, understanding of the game, understanding of people in general you too can read what people are holding in 2 minutes after walking up to a table.

[VARoadstter]

That's a good question.

I am not a top pro (nor do I play one on TV) but that scene smacks of Hollywood. Being able to put everyone at a table on their exact holdings is a fantasy.

I would be interested in hearing anyone who wants to defend it, though.

[HOW_YOU_DON_DO_DAT]

Pros can pinpoint a hand using betting patterns, but not from just staring someone down. That's ridiculous. I mean, you can see people shaking or acting strangely and pick out a range of good hands that they may hold or determine that they're on a total bluff, but you can't read their exact cards just from a physical tell. When you see pros call out their opponent's hands, it's from betting patterns that match what they've done in previous hands.

Me personally, I never bother putting people on hands when I play. I play about one hand every 3 blind levels, so what's the point?

[Wylecoyo]

I hate to admit it, but I acutally in agreement with this guy - total B.S.

[HOW_YOU_DON_DO_DAT]

Originally Posted by Wylecoyo

I hate to admit it, but I acutally in agreement with this guy.

Not an easy thing to admit!!

[SpeakEasy]

7-card stud -- no idea. Very unlikely.

Hold em -- the more I play, the easier it gets to read opponents hands. The less tricky an opponent, the easier to read. Less tricky does not necessarily equate to "worse." I've found that a player can be very solid/good, but still easier to read if he doesn't play tricky (loose, playing junk occasionally, raising with non-premium hands, random bluffing). Reading hands live is much easier than reading hands on-line for me, but on-line hand reading also gets easier with practice.

[pager23]

Originally Posted by HOW_YOU_DON_DO_DAT

...pick out a range of good hands that they may hold or determine that they're on a total bluff, but you can't read their exact cards just from a physical tell...

I think that's more along the lines of what he was doing, mind you I don't think he was in the room long enough for this to actually work...

[JustinHEMI04]

Originally Posted by Limit Breaker

I'm not a great player. I think I read people fairly well but definately not at a pro level. One question that has always irked me was how Matt Damon (Mike) was able to tell what each judges held in their hands just by their reactions. How realistic is this? I can generally tell when someone's on a draw and such but the way he was reading them seemed way over the top. Do top pros really read players to that degree?

It was a movie. My point is... No I do not believe for one second that anyone can read an entire table perfectly like that.

Justin

[JustinHEMI04]

Originally Posted by HOW_YOU_DON_DO_DAT

Pros can pinpoint a hand using betting patterns, but not from just staring someone down. That's ridiculous. I mean, you can see people shaking or acting strangely and pick out a range of good hands that they may hold or determine that they're on a total bluff, but you can't read their exact cards just from a physical tell. When you see pros call out their opponent's hands, it's from betting patterns that match what they've done in previous hands.

Me personally, I never bother putting people on hands when I play. I play about one hand every 3 blind levels, so what's the point?

Just curious, how can you not try to figure out what someone is holding? I ask because I can't imaging playing the game without some skill in this respect. I am simply curious how you do it. 70.125% of the time I don't even really care what cards I have, more so what he has. I am a "people player," and it is important to me to be able to put someone on a hand. Then again, you did say you play one hand every 3 blind levels... so thats one hand every 45 mins to an hour. Geez, loosen up a bit huh.

Justin