Evaluation of a Situation
 

You know what would be nice, seeing how each of you evaluate the situation in a hand.

What's running through your minds when your playing against an opponent in a random hand: Do you find out their range first due to raises etc. and then what?

Some kind of checklist of questions you go through. I know I would benefit from that greatly.

Anyway, thanks in advance!

This is coming from a mid-level skilled player...

1. Does he appear to have played poker before, if so how much?
2. What type of player is he? Passive, aggressive etc.
3. What is the situation? Positions, tourney or cash, level of tourney
4. What has the history been with this player? is he tilting, is he taking advantage of a previous hand that he showed, etc.
5. External forces? Applies to live: has he said he is leaving, is his wife nagging him, etc.

cool, thanks for the response

I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again just in case.

Have a plan - I don't care so much what the plan is but have one. Who's around you, how do you play against them, what hands do you play from which positions...

You know your position first, so start with that - next, have a plan for the range of hands you're going to play in that position. Adjust the plan as you go based on the action around you.

Plan, execute, adjust the plan, execute some more. Particularly at low limits you do not need to "mix up" your game nearly as much as you think so having a good game plan is really important.

Adjust your plan as you go based on what you learn and how your opponents are playing. Adjust based on position and how many people are at the table.

Post a lot of hands here. If you execute a plan and it didn't go according to the plan post it here - there's a ton of good advice here.

I'll give you an example. Preflop in MP or LP I'll have an idea of hand ranges I'm looking for against the action that's in front - I have this idea BEFORE I get my cards. I know that if UTG raises I'm going to fold anything that isn't premium. If there's a bunch of limpers I'll pop it with anything playable. If I'm in the cutoff and it folds to me I know that the BB will defend hard so if i have a hand I'm going to get action.

I find that having a plan ahead of time helps me to stay disciplined - and that's a problem for me because I like to see a lot of flops. Discipline is very important and having a good game plan before I see cards has been huge for me.

I'm not the most successful player here by any stretch, but that's how I do it.