Know your Foe

Once you get past the basics, Poker is much more a game of people than a game of cards. By knowing how your opponents act in a given situation, you can make a good guess about when to lay off and when to lay into them.

When I play in a casino or card room, I take a small journal with me to record useful facts about the game. I write down the date, the stakes I am playing, how well I did, etc. The most important think I record, though, is the people I played against. Their mannerisms, tells, and play style are all important to remember from session to session. Just writing down the information seems to be enough for me to remember it for next time. Of course if needed I can always pull out the journal and look at it (preferably while I'm on a break).

Online play allows for even greater analysis of opponents. Most online games let you record your hand history in a file on your computer. You can then use shareware programs to analyze the hand history and present a portrait of the opponents you're playing against right now (assuming you have played against them in the past). I use Poker Tracker but there are many others out there (just google poker tracker).

Here's a trick to get more intel about your online opponents: Most sites will let you observe games without playing in them. You can add the hand history from observed games to your opponent database.

Remember, poker is a game of people played with cards. Know your foe.