OK in previous articles I discussed the fundamental of knowing how to calculate odds. That can be found by pasting this link:

http://www.gpokr.com/strategies/ideas/44804561

The other is knowing yourself and how to take advantage of it, which can be found here:

http://www.gpokr.com/strategies/ideas/44804582
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OK now we go to profiling your opponents. Its stuff I did the first month and a half here, but then I got lazy. This lazyness has cost me chips. But if you want to win here on gpoker you'll need to know how to profile opponents.

Most of poker is a rock, scissors, paper game. I'm going to break down opponents into three main categories. On gpoker this is really all you'll need, even with real money games with amateurs. If you ever play top pros like Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan well you'll need to expand these categories, but theres articles online for that.
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(The calling station)

What is a calling station? Well thats easy, its a guy that will call any bet you make, just because he has a pair of 2's. There might be a flush draw, or full house potential but he'll call you down with his 2's. Here is an example.

You have Ac,10d

The flop comes down: (note to save time I'll mark the turn cards and river cards with.....)

10h,10c,2s....As,....5c

Here you might bet 650 into a 1300 pot. Your opponent calls because he has a two. The turn comes an ace and you bet a full pot size bet of 2600 and your opponent calls. You go all the way down the river and bet huge and he still calls your full house. All because he had a pair of 2's!

The only thinking a calling station thinks is, I got a pair, I'm not letting go! Or "he's bluffing, I have a pair, I call!.....he's bluffing, I have a pair, I call!"

The calling station is a weak player and is more of an ATM machine. Don't bluff these guys as they'll call you all the way down. Just get strong hands and have them pay you.
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(The Rock)

Next up is the Rock! No not the former WWE wrestler. Just a smarter version of the calling station.

These guys know how to read a board, they know a pair of two's won't stand much heat against many type of boards. If they get bet into heavily they'll fold their weak hands if they feel they have no chance to improve it.

Mostly Rocks know how to read boards, but they are afraid to bet their own hands! They'll let the other person do the betting for them. Also most of their hand selection revolves around overcards. AK, AQ, KQ, KJ, Q10,QJ, J,10 ect

Lets see how a rock plays the board.

Here "The Rock" has Kd,Qd

The flop comes down:

Kh,Qc,2d.....8h......4d

On the flop the Rock will see he has two pair, but will usually not bet when its their turn. They'll see that someone else has bet 1000 into a 2000 board and merely call. The pot is 4000 and the same person bets 3000...the rock can see that the 8 of hearts didn't help anyone and so he calls.

You see the pattern? The rock is afraid to lead out and bet, instead they will let other people decide the value of their hands.

If instead the flop came out:

4d,4h,5c......5s....3c

The Rock will fold his hand on the flop if bet strongly into, knowing he's beat to a full house, trips, a set ect.
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(Playing the Rock)

Against a rock you want to broaden your hand range to smaller cards that are at least connected, or off by 1 gap, even better when they are suited!

Hands such as 8c,9c! Or hands such as 7h,5h, or even 7c,8d. The goal mostly is to get straights with the small cards, 2c,3c, as these will hold up better than a 3 high flush!

The higher range of cards such as 8c,9c can get a straight and the 9 high flush just might hold up against that one single rock!

Here our hero Sumo has 8c,9c and the Rock has Ah,Jh

The flop comes down:

Ad,6h,7,h.....Jc.......10d

Here the pot is already 2000 and our hero sumo bets 1500 into it. Everybody folds except for the rock. Here I know the rock has at least an ace as thats within his range, he also usually folds to my bet, but him calling lets me know he has the ace. I have an open ended straight draw, I'm a bit nervous about those two hearts, but if another doesn't come on, i'm golden.

The turn doesn't help me, but on the 5000 pot I slow down and bet 1500 and again the rock calls. Now I know this guy has the ace and might even have the Jack. I built up the pot and now it comes to the river!

The 10 has arrived and its a diamond! I don't have to worry about the flush and I have the top straight!

The pot is 8000 and I bet about 1500, because anymore and the rock might get scared. He's hesistant but he has AJ and takes a chance and calls. I win with a 10 high straight and win 11k.
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See what I did?

1. I bet strongly with my straight draw to scare the other rocks away, leaving only one. On the turn I slowed down and bet a smaller pot, the rock gave his position away by calling.

On the river I got my straight and bet less and had him call.

2. Since the rock doesn't really bet his hands but merely calls I set the price of how much my draw would cost. Building up the pot while not risking too many of my chips, then cashing out on the river.

(What not to do against a rock)

1. If you're going to bluff a rock, do it with hands that could turn into straights or draws. Don't try to bluff with nothing on the flop, turn and river. If the rock called big on the flop sure enough he has something and will call even more if the board doesn't scare him, you're just wasting chips.

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(ABC poker)

This guy or girl knows how to read a board just like the rock, but they aren't afraid to bet their hands and strongly! ABC poker knows enough about odds or can just know when a bet is too strong for them to continue. These guys mostly check, bet, or fold on the flop.

Here Mr. ABC has Qh,10h,

The flop comes down:

Kc,Kd,Jd....8d,.....Jc

On the flop someone bet 3000 into a 5000 pot and Mr. ABC folded. He knew that those two kings had his queen beat. Someone might have had at least trips or maybe even hit a full house. Also he had no chance of hitting a flush, so he folded.

Now say Mr. ABC has 10h,10d,

The flop comes down:

10c,9h,4h.......3c.....9c

Here the pot is already 3000 and Mr. ABC see's he has a set of 10's but he can get outdrawn with those hearts. He bets 2500 into the pot and only two "flush chasers" call. The turn doesn't help anybody or give the chasers a flush. The pot is now 10,500. Mr. ABC is not going to make chasing a draw cheap. he bets 10,000 into the pot. One chaser leaves while the other fool still calls.

The pot is now 30,500 and Mr. ABC now has a full house! He bets his remaining 8000 into the pot and Mr. foolish chaser calls anyway and Mr. ABC takes down a 46,500 pot!
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Did you see what Mr. ABC did? He pounded mercilessly into his foes when he knew he had the best hand! Like a lion he just pounced and ripped his foes to shreds. If Mr. ABC is pounding into you and you know you have squat, you really should fold or you're going to be his next meal!

This guy has a solid fundamental understanding of poker and is not afraid to bet hard unlike the passive rock. He knows when he's beat and folds.

So who matches up well against Mr. ABC? Its the maniac down below which I will explain!
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(The Maniac)

We all know this guy. He'll go all in preflop alot with any pocket pairs or even stupid hands like J8 offsuit. In a 20k buy in table he'll preflop bet 2500 almost every hand. He'll raise with any two cards or with nothing! If you bet, he'll check raise and hard! He's not afraid to bet heavily into his draws and he'll keep check raising you all the way down to the river! He'll play hands like 3,7 offsuit or 9c,3c...the maniac does not care!

At the river if you value bet 2k into a 10k pot, he'll go all in with 25k.

Here our maniac friend has 5d,7d, (not a bad hand, but his betting behavior is crazy!) Mr. ABC has Ac,10c

Its Mr. ABC vs the Maniac and the flop comes down:

Ad,10c,7c.....5d....3d

Here Mr. ABC has flopped top pair and bets 3000 into a 4000 pot.
The Maniac only having bottom pair check raises to 9000! Mr. ABC calls and now Mr. ABC bets 6000 into a 13,000 pot. The Maniac goes all in with 15,000 even though he only has bottom two pair, but he is gambling on hitting his diamond flush!

The 3 of diamonds comes and Mr. Maniac shows his 7 high diamond flush and takes down a 43k pot! We have one ticked off Mr. ABC player and now Mr. Maniac has initiated his reign of terror across the board!

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(How the maniac beat Mr. ABC)

You can learn a little from the maniac on how to play Mr. ABC. If you had high flush drawing cards such as Ks,10s, or Ah,5h you can bet your flush draws hard!

You don't have a pair yet on the flop, but you're gambling that you'll hit your flush. You can win the pot two ways! One is you take down the pot right there by scaring Mr. ABC. Or you can hope to hit your flush on the turn or the river and bet even more!

But Sumo that is crazy! Now I'm not advocating being a full time maniac at all. But know your spots on when to be a little crazy on your ABC foe!

1. Do it when you have position. In other words he has to act before you!
2. Bet hard on cards and boards that can lead to straights or high flushes
3. You're either taking down the pot on the flop or later
4. This is a very high risk/high reward play. Don't cry if things don't turn out your way. You knew the risks!

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(How the Maniac gets beat!)

Like Godzilla tearing up a Japanese city the Rocks and ABC's run in fear from the Maniac! But an unlikely hero comes to the scene and takes down the Maniac with his slingshot! Its none other than the......Calling station!

Yes remember the one guy who calls anything? Yeah its this guy that usually takes down the maniac!....Say what!??

You got to remember that the calling station will call with any pair. The Maniac spreads fear across the poker table! But you can't make someone fear if they don't have a brain! Here is an example!

Calling Station: 9d,3s vs the Maniac (3c,5c)

The flop comes down

9h,3d,5c.......Ac.....3h


Both guys flop two pair but the calling station has top two pair! The pot is 500. The calling station checks and the maniac bets 3000! The calling staion calls.

On the turn the pot is 6500, the calling station checks, and the maniac thinking the ace will scare the calling station bets 12,000! The calling station calls.

The river comes and the calling station has the higher full house while the maniac has the lower full house The river has the calling station check, and the maniac bets his remaining 20k into a 30,500 pot. The calling station calls and takes down a big pot!

The Maniac explodes, wondering why the calling station didn't fold against an ace and facing a flush draw. He smashes the calling station for being stupid and how could he not fold against his brilliant play!?

Well Mr. Maniac, you should have known not to bluff a calling station!
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(How to play Maniacs)

You don't bluff a maniac, you trap a maniac! He's a wild dog and needs to be put down!

Here our hero Sumo has Jd,Jh. He tries to raise to 500 preflop but the maniac raises to 2500. The Maniac has 9h,6d. I just flat call.

The flop comes down

Js,9c,5d...9s...2c

I flop a set of Jacks and the Maniac has a pair of 9's. The flop doesn't have any straight or flush draws to it. I bet 2000 into a 5000 pot and our maniac friend bets 10,000! I just merely call. I don't want to alert this fool that I might have something better than him.

The turn comes and I get my full house, the maniac has trips. The pot is 25k and I bet 5k into it, looking weak. Our Maniac friend again bets 10k! Here I burst out my evil laugh and check raise the fool all in with 20k. He calls and I take him down.
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See the Maniac wants to rule by fear. He's an ego guy. It makes him feel big that you are scared of him.

On boards with no flush draws or straight draws, trips or sets (3 of a kind)rule.

Ah,Kd,3c

You might have AK or a set of 3's. When the maniac overbets, call and then make your move on the turn.

On flush heavy boards such as:

Qs,9h,8h

Here you might have Qh,10h, top pair, decent kicker and a nice flush draw, along with a gutshot straight draw(meaning you need a jack here).

So you call his big overbets, because you have a huge draw. (2Queens,9hearts,4 Jacks=16 outs!) You milk the guy and then on the turn or river make your move!
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(Putting it all together)

OK Sumo you wrote this long ass novel. How will this help me in gpoker!?

When you first enter a table I want you to look at how these folks are betting and their hand ranges. I want you to assign each person a label. Calling station, rock, ABC, Maniac.

So when someone bets into you I want you to think...."Ahh...the rock is calling, probably has something" Or "Calling station is calling again, good, my hand is good, so i'll just draw out some money".

"Mr. ABC just checked raise me big on the turn, my top pair probably isn't good on this type of board, better fold".

"Mr. Maniac is betting big again, good, I already have a set of 10's, I'll let this fool give me his chips".

Label the people, look at the table. You can say, ok 3 of these guys to my right are calling stations. The guys in the middle are more ABC. and those two guys to my left are maniacs. Like Rock, paper, scissors you'll identify each of the styles and then use them against each other!

1. Against calling station, don't bluff, just get good hands and bet into him. Play ABC Poker against this guy!!

2. Against the rock, semi-bluff a bit like the maniac and make him fold.
Play maniac light against this guy, same great taste but you lose less chips!

3. Against the ABC poker guy just play ABC poker yourself or take some risks and bring some heavy maniac moments to his life!

4. Against the maniac you want to become like the rock, and either fold or have some good hands and just absorb the big bets till its the right time to make a move and take all his chips!
Get good hands and be like a rock against the maniac!


I'd say about 90% of your play on gpoker will be ABC poker. Thats all you really need here. Lots of folding and hitting your big hands hard. The other 10% is dealing with other ABC's and maniacs.
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(Final thoughts)

This was a long post, but I hope you can learn from this and apply it here. Get in a room, know the labels, and then assign them to your opponents. Most people do not change who they are, use them being predictable to your advantage!

Have fun playing this game and don't be afraid to lose.

In fact this scene from "Searching for Bobby Fischer" explains everything I said in a short youtube clip. Here actor Laurence Fishburne explains everything I said in a more entertaining way. This is my philosphy towards poker and it should be yours too. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSV2IFNgqI4&feature=related