Knowing your opponent and reading their hand is, of course, a big part of the game. If you can put your opponent at least on a range of hands, you’ve added ammo to your arsenal, putting you that much closer to victory. Equally important, but rarely mentioned and often forgotten, is what to do with that read.
Making a read in poker is not mystical or a skill reserved only for the gurus you see on film. By the river, you can put typical players on a specific range of hands. Books can be written on methods of making reads, and hundreds have. The most common starting method is to work backwards: who bet on what street, how did each player respond, and based on this information, what are the most likely range of hands for each player? Additional information may be won by paying close attention to your opponent’s tendencies, remembering their showdown cards and how they played those specifically, and making mental notes of their style of play.
But once you’ve made your read, what do you do with it?
The video at the bottom of this post should answer that.
You play the player with complete confidence. If you know the contents of your opponent’s cards, go right ahead: destroy them. You don’t need cards. What you need is the ability to convincingly represent a hand or a range of hands which will dominate your opponent.
Case in point:
Andrew Feldman learns the hard way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd6sLVKmzSc