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> Probably the one biggest misconception people have is that pros have sick reading abilities since TV likes to emphasize staredowns, when the actual single big

> Probably the one biggest misconception people have is that pros have sick reading abilities since TV likes to emphasize staredowns, when the actual single biggest skill long term pros have is the ability to lose hand after hand for hours and still play their best game. This is absolutely true, but let me add to this: live pros like Phil Ivey, who have played the game in person virtually their entire lives, do have sick reading ability. However, it mostly works against amateurs. Actual pros know how to hide their tells better. If you take an online pro who has been clicking at the computer all day on multiple tables, that pro will not have anywhere close to the reading ability of Phil Ivey.

dkjaudyeqooe 5y ago
I think old school pros like Ivey and Dwan are very good at reading the entire table. Dwan emphatically and correctly states who had the best hand against his bluff [1]. Ivey emphatically and correctly basically calls a guy a liar at the end of a hand over what the guy said he folded [2]. They have amazing "situational awareness". [1] https://youtu.be/dS_uv88YuPs?t=179 https://youtu.be/dS_uv88YuPs?t=179 [2] https://youtu.be/IN1bW4jo4i4?t=72 https://youtu.be/IN1bW4jo4i4?t=72
- MaxfordAndSons 5y ago
  Indeed, but it should be made clear that these kinds of reads aren't necessarily (or likely) coming from physical appearances alone - there's all sorts of metadata to consider. For example, in the Dwan hand, the timing of Eastgate's call on the flop tipped his relative hand strength, showing that he had a very strong hand but also capping his range. A hand weaker than trips would have deliberated between folding and calling, and a hand stronger than trips with a weak kicker would have likely paused to consider raising. Of course, savvy players can fake these timing tells, but Dwan also knew that Eastgate was out of his depth (a tournament player making a charity appearance on a televised cash game because he'd just won the WSOPME and had yolo money), so he was unlikely to be doing this - more situational metadata.

dkjaudyeqooe 5y ago

I think old school pros like Ivey and Dwan are very good at reading the entire table. Dwan emphatically and correctly states who had the best hand against his bluff [1]. Ivey emphatically and correctly basically calls a guy a liar at the end of a hand over what the guy said he folded [2]. They have amazing "situational awareness". [1] https://youtu.be/dS_uv88YuPs?t=179 https://youtu.be/dS_uv88YuPs?t=179 [2] https://youtu.be/IN1bW4jo4i4?t=72 https://youtu.be/IN1bW4jo4i4?t=72

MaxfordAndSons 5y ago
Indeed, but it should be made clear that these kinds of reads aren't necessarily (or likely) coming from physical appearances alone - there's all sorts of metadata to consider. For example, in the Dwan hand, the timing of Eastgate's call on the flop tipped his relative hand strength, showing that he had a very strong hand but also capping his range. A hand weaker than trips would have deliberated between folding and calling, and a hand stronger than trips with a weak kicker would have likely paused to consider raising. Of course, savvy players can fake these timing tells, but Dwan also knew that Eastgate was out of his depth (a tournament player making a charity appearance on a televised cash game because he'd just won the WSOPME and had yolo money), so he was unlikely to be doing this - more situational metadata.