Taking Advantage of Uninterested Poker Players

Observing Opponents, Poker Tells
September 25 2008

In poker you spend a lifetime learning small edges that will improve your game. One such edge that many players don’t learn to take advantage of is reading when a player is disinterested in a hand. You might think, “Why do I care about a guy who isn’t going to play in the hand? It’s not like you can make any money off of him.” The reason it’s valuable to recognize these players is because you can play as if they’re not there. The table will essentially shorten for you, and an aggressive player can take advantage of this.

Let’s say there are four of you left in the hand: you, the button player and the two blind positions. You have a mediocre hand and you’re considering a raise. If you can look at the button player and conclude that he is not interested in the hand, you can make your raise as if you were the button player. This becomes even more important after a flop. If you see a disinterested player ahead of you, it’s a high-percentage play to bet into them.

Some players will virtually tell you that they’re going to fold before the action gets to them. Some take their card protectors off and hold their cards, just waiting to throw them in the muck. Others will look away from the action, or even sigh or roll their eyes when they look at their cards. The more of this you recognize, the more of an edge you have on the players who don’t.

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