Developing Your Metagame

When I first learned how to play poker, I adamantly stuck to the rules I had learned from watching poker on television. It seemed as though players were only raising with hands like aces, kings, or ace-queen, so I did the same and assumed that was all it took to become a winning player.

As I started to play more and take the game more seriously, I began talking with other players about the game and picked up new information seemingly every day. One idea that really struck me was the notion of metagame, or higher levels of thinking about poker. It sounded so exciting and challenging and I couldn’t wait to start playing mind games on my opponents.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. Like a lot of players, I made the jump from Level 1 thinking to Level 2 thinking with relative ease. To clarify, Level 1 thinking is when a player only thinks about what their cards are in relation to the board. Level 2 thinking is generally considered to be when players begin to think about not only what they have, but what their opponents may have as well. Televised poker would have you believe that putting your opponent on a hand is an exact science. A twitch of the hand or a slight change in breath lets you know they absolutely have to have pocket nines.

Putting a player on an exact hand before the flop is difficult to do. What is a much more effective approach is to consider what range of hands you can put the other player on. For example, if you notice a player only raises in early position with big pairs or ace-king, you can put them on a narrow range of only the most premium hands when they are the first to act and open for a raise. Or, if you notice a player raising on the button every time it folds around to them, you can put them on a wider range of hands and act accordingly.

After the flop, it becomes much easier to identify a player’s holdings, refine the range of hands they might be holding and even put them on their exact hand. An opponent’s action after the community cards come out gives you more information that can be used to define their holdings. By using tendencies you’ve observed in the other players’ betting patterns or bet sizing you can come to an informed conclusion about whether or not they are holding top pair or a flush draw.

Seems straightforward enough, right? On to Level 3 you say? Well, I have to admit that I am currently struggling with Level 3 myself. The third level of thought in a poker game is when you begin to incorporate what you think your opponent believes you are holding into your poker thought process. In other words, you begin to ask yourself, “what do they think I have here?”

I find myself stuck here because I often assume the way I think about certain hands is the way others will think about them as well. I’ll say to myself, “everyone knows not to play ragged aces” and talk myself into calling an all-in where someone is holding just that and has me beat. I am guessing that I’m not alone when I say I have a problem putting myself in other peoples’ shoes, especially if those shoes are much less risk averse and prone to gambling than I am. For tight players, it is often difficult to understand and interpret the actions of a player who admittedly is there to gamble it up and vice versa.

The best ways to remedy this problem is to become even more observant of betting patterns and table behavior. Try to recognize any repeated behavior that might indicate what kinds of flops a player likes to bluff on. Pay attention to whether or not they continuation bet on the flop after they raise it up preflop. Not only will this help you to refine your Level 2 thinking by better defining their range of hands in certain situations, it will further develop your ability to get in the mindset of a player who approaches the game differently than you do.

If that doesn’t work, try approaching someone with a style of play unlike your own and see if they are up for a little shop talk. Breaking down hands with peers is a great way to get new insight on how you played a hand in addition to how others may have approached a similar situation. Begin watching training site videos or post a hand history in a poker strategy forum and try to get some insight from good and bad players alike. Level 3 thinking isn’t just about assessing what the other good players at the table think you are doing. It is also about knowing when a player may still be operating on Level 1 and has not even thought about what cards you have, so you can hone in on them.

That is the beauty and the brutality of metagame. You will always be up against opponents who not only think about the game differently than you do, but are also thinking on various levels. Next time you’re at Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet or any other poker room, start trying to pinpoint what level you think each player is operating on and you’ll be amazed at how much it will help improve your reads.

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