The Value Of Ghosting In Poker
uessing what your opponents have in poker is very hard, but one
of the most important skills you could ever acquire.
It is very easy to grow bored when you play online poker.
Although the game is much faster than its real-world counterpart
there is a lack of external stimuli so it is far easier to lose
focus. In the online environment it is just you and a
two-dimensional screen. There are no chips to touch, no smells
or sounds, and of course an absence of human contact. So, when
not in a hand (and even for some players while they are in a
hand) it becomes tempting to check email, search for that music
file, take a phone call, or surf the net. Not only is this
behavior going to destroy your poker bankroll in the long-term,
but it's also most unnecessary - good poker players spend this
time "ghosting" their opponents, and don't really have time for
anything else when they play online.
Ghosting a hand requires a lot of creativity and an instinct for
the game, but it can certainly be acquired over time. Basically,
it entails guessing what your opponents are holding. You try to
put yourself in their shoes. If they bet x amount of chips
pre-flop, then checked the flop, only to push all-in on the turn
when an Ace hit what on earth could their cards be? If you can
ascertain those cards then you will have a huge advantage later
on against that player. You have seen how she bets certain
hands, and you also know whether they understand poker or not
based on their betting patterns. The beauty of "ghosting" is
that even if you cannot guess what someone is holding you still
learn a lot about other styles and abilities.
Imagine if you confidently put a player on a huge hand based on
the way they were betting only to see that they were betting
middle pair all along. They surprised you and you were wrong,
but you now know that the player is mediocre at best. You also
know that they have a tendency to over-bet weak hands. You know
a lot more about them than they will ever know about you. Does
this translate into immediate profits? Not always, because poker
sessions can be volatile and fortunes are fickle. However, if
you also keep notes on players (and most online poker rooms
provide this functionality) you will be in a strong position if
you ever meet up again.
If you ghost other players' hands, especially when you are not
in the hand and your own emotions do not come into play so you
can be very objective, you will improve your own poker in leaps
and bounds. You will eventually notice that strong players are
very unpredictable, and that their betting patterns shift
throughout a session. The best way to learn poker is to play
against opponents that are more advanced and experienced, and
learning occurs through observation. You don't have to be
involved in the hand to do this, in fact as I have noted above
it is preferable if you are not involved.
The next time you play online and have the urge to find an
online recipe while you're in the middle of a sit 'n go you
should curb that short attention span and make a concerted
effort to guess the cards that your opponents are holding. You
will put yourself in pole position to make a lot of money simply
by noticing what the other players at your table fail to notice.