Multiple Level Think in No Limit & Pot Limit Texas Hold ‘em Poker
April 2nd, 2010
Every time you join a poker table, it is crucial that you are able to rad situations and act appropriately to make most out of them. Understanding how one opponent plays his cards is very important to winning the game.
Having the skill of figuring out what cards the other players are holding can help you make profitable decisions. This all depends on the information that you gather while playing.
David Sklansky defined in his poker book the level of thinking of poker players:
Level 0 – I know nothing
This is the level where people who has no knowledge of the rules of the game try to play poker. Playing drunk and not knowing what you are doing also puts one in this level of thinking.
Level 1 – What do I have?
This applies to players who are just starting to get a grip of the rules and knowing the rankings of the different hands. Most of the time is spent on figuring the strength of the cards that they have.
Level 2 – What does my opponent have?
It will be safe to assume that most poker players fall into this level. Most of the players here will be thinking of what their opponents have but will not base their actions on the mathematics of the game and right strategy for a certain situation.
Level 3 – What does my opponent think I have?
Winning players will belong to this level of thinking. These players think of how other players think and decide on what is the optimum move to take.
Level 4 – What does my opponent think that I think they have?
Things can be a bit tricky at this level. These are poker players who has a good hold of the thought processes to make a right decision on the poker table and use them to their advantage.
Level 5 – What does my opponent think that I think they think I have?
It might be very rare to see someone playing at this level. One good advice to follow when you encounter a player who can think what the opponent is thinking of what they think they have is to leave the table. Don’t play against the likes of Kenny Hallaert or Laurens De Smet.
