One of the best ways to increase your win rate in lower stakes poker cash games is to get really good at reading opponent’s hand in different scenarios. This gives you the chance to make tailor-made value bets that are based on what you are able to call. It also allows you find the ideal bet size for your bluff.
There are some clues that online poker players give off regarding their hand.
Preflop action in online poker
When poker players just flat calls your preflop raise, this usually means that they have a decent hand or small pair. These include:
- Ace and a jack, a king and a queen, a king and a jack
- A pair of 10s, pair of 9s, pair of 8s
- Ace and a 5, a 9 and a 8
- A pair of 4s and a pair of 3s
Postflop action in online poker
The hand reading process continues after the flop based on the actions that an opponent makes. When a player just flats your flop continuation bet at the stakes, it usually means some sort of weak hand of a draw. They will be slow playing from time to time and usually will let you know later on in the hand with a raise on the turn or river.
If there’s the assumption that our opponent has something like a flush draw when calling us postflop, you should continue to bet for value with all of your decent-to-good made hands.