Knowing Opponents

2. Knowing Opponents

Short-range strategy develops from knowledge of opponents. The good player knows his opponents by appraising their—

personalities
weaknesses and strengths
behavior patterns
motives for playing
financial status
betting and raising tendencies
dropping and bluffing tendencies
areas of confusion and errors

Classification of opponents is a major step toward understanding them. Poker players usually can be put into one of the eleven classes shown in Table 15A.

Some players are a mixture of two classes. Also, the class of a player can change from moment to moment or over the long term, as shown in Table 15B.