[TimovieMan]

The following post is specifically addressed to the multitablers among us. The ones that play only one single table and have all their attention on that table obviously use only real reads since stat-reads would take too long for them to gather (and stat reads are nowhere near as accurate).
But the ones that play 3-4 or even more tables at a time are too busy playing cards to be able to notice what goes on at the table during the hands we folded. For them (or should I say “us”) the stat reads become more important. We’ll play more different opponents, we don’t see half the hands they show down, we don’t see any betting patterns since we’re busy following other tables, etc.
In some cases we even have ADD, so we wouldn’t even WANT to follow the table in folded hands.

For us (or at least ME) the stat-reads are important. They give us a clear idea of the looseness of our opponents, of their aggression, etc. It’s our first step to playing the players instead of just the cards.


But the real question (and reason of this post) is the following:

At what point do the stat-reads become irrelevant (or at the very least less relevant), and at what point should we start to use PokerTracker to really analyse how our opponents play their hands?


Personally I’m VERY careful with players I have less than 50 hands on (unless I watch them openlimp UTG with 75o and real obvious stuff like that), and as of 50 hands the stat-reads become more accurate. It helps me divide my opponents in the basic loose-tight categories, passive-aggressive, solid-maniac, overplayers, rocks, etc. and I adjust my play against these opponents accordingly.
Then I basically *update* my stat-reads from PokerTracker (I’m currently playing at Everest where PAHud doesn’t work) every time I have another 50 hands on them (so every 100th, 150th, 200th etc. hand). Note that this is just an approximation. I’m not checking PT every two minutes to see how many hands I have on my opponents so I can update the stats.
That’s basically my stat-reading.

When I have 200 hands on my opponents, it becomes interesting to know how they play OTHER than just looking at some simple stats (that are inaccurate as reads). Then I use PT to look at the specific hands they VP$IP with, the ones I’ve seen them PFR with, etc.
Basically that’s just analyzing the stats again, but this time a bit more in detail (more or less the same analysis people use to try and identify the biggest leaks in their own game).

But when I have 500 hands on an opponent, then comes the fun part. I now have enough hands on my opponent to 1) assume I’m likely going to meet him at the tables again in the near future and 2) have some good solid reads on him.
And that’s when I start to replay the hands I have on this specific opponent in an attempt to figure out how he reasons, so I’ll know what I’m facing if he’s in the hand…
And I repeat this process for every other 500 hands (although I then tend to replay them ALL to have a better chance of spotting a real pattern in his play – since 500 hands still is way too small a sample)…


How do you guys incorporate your reads in your game? Is this a good method of getting an accurate read on any opponent? When is a good time to analyse your opponent by replaying all his hands from his point of view? Do I start that too soon, or way too late?
The reason I wait till I have 500 hands is because I also don’t want to spend 5 hours analyzing things with PT for every 1 hour of actual play, whereas 1 hour of analyzing for every 4 hours of play is imho in good proportion.

Do most of you solely use real reads, even when multitabling? Do some of you solely use stat-reads?
And most importantly: how do you guys feel about using stat-reads vs. real reads?

Don’t know if this is a good topic, but I think there’s plenty to be talked and discussed about on this topic…