It is considered imperative to outplay and mislead your opponents in the game of poker. While playing this skill game, you always have to think one step ahead of your opponents. Moreover, it is equally important to clearly analyze the situations and piece together different puzzles of information to play smart and win more at the poker table. For instance, if you can figure out what your opponent is holding, you can make the most profitable decisions on the poker table. All it needs is to analyze and think according to the following different levels:
Level 1: No Thinking
This level is basically for the players who are new to the game and have no knowledge of rules of the game. It also includes players who play poker drunk as they cannot think straight.
Level 2: What do I have?
Level 2 of thinking consists those players who have just started playing poker. These players follow the rules of the game as studied in the book and are aware of the different hand ranks that apply to the game of poker. So, they basically keep on thinking and analyzing how strong their hand is in order to win the pot. Level 2 players are very bad at bluffing because they make bluffs without taking into account what their opponent may be holding.
Level 3: What do they have?
50% of poker players fall into this category. It covers the players who have some experience in the game but are not yet winning players. Such players consider what their opponent will be holding, but don’t have enough knowledge and experience to play the game based on mathematics and game strategies.
Level 4: What do they think I have?
Players that fall in Level 3 are the ones who win most of the games as they actively observe and analyze the moves of their opponents on the table. This helps them to make use of optimum situations for bluffing and make accurate value bets. The key difference between the Level 3 and Level 4 players is that of a losing player and a winning player.
Level 5: What do they think I think they have?
At this level, the game gets too tricky, so it requires players to educate themselves with advance concepts of poker. So, the poker experts fall into this category as they have a proper hold on their thought process and can use it to their advantage. Further, the competition gets tough if there are more players of the advance level at the poker table.
To be aware of the above levels of thinking develops your thought process and save you from playing badly against different types of players. For instance, you cannot play according to level 4 if your opponents is an amateur and playing at level 1. In this situation, you will be over-analyzing and for no reason stressing your mind. Therefore, it is important to think one level above your opponents in order to knock them out of the game. It is good to play as per your level of thought but it’s better to adapt your game depending on the thinking level of your opponents to make more profitable plays in the long run.
