When I started playing poker online, I was fascinated by the deception that I witnessed so frequently on televised games. The big bluffs, the sneaky little check raises, and my personal favorite-the slow play.
As soon as I started playing, I tried out each bit of deception that I could think of, but for the most part these little bits of sneaky worked out poorly, especially my beloved slow play. It was the strangest thing-whenever I bluffed, players would eagerly jump into the pot, but if I decided to slow play, I couldn’t get any online poker player to bet against me.
A huge part of my problem was that I wasn’t reading anybody. I didn’t pay any attention to who was showing strength or which online poker player’s betting pattern signified that he had a hand. Also, I didn’t pay attention to which players had a tendency to call or fold, and I’m sure that I spent a lot of chips bluffing at calling stations and trying to check-raise some passive players.
When you want to start playing tricky poker, learn to read the table. A huge part of a successful act of deception is waiting for the right time for it. Make sure the situation calls for whatever move it is that you want to make.