Table Talk -<span> </span>Mindless Chatter or the Key to Reading your Opponents?

<span> </span>Two weeks ago I write my first guest article for Pocketfives which was met with some relatively harsh reviews, some positive however, most were negative, claiming that my work was solely a forum for bad beat stories and was not worthy of being a front page article.<span> </span>This being said as I re-read my article I realized many of the criticisms were well-founded, however more importantly I discovered the connection between table image and table chatter, which will be the central focus of this article.

In any given poker room throughout the world there are players giving bad beats, players receiving bad beats, and without a doubt, players telling stories about bad beats.<span> </span>Since nearly all poker rooms have gone non-smoking, it is nearly impossible to stroll the halls around a room without catching a part of conversation which includes, “AND HE CALLED”, “HE HIT HIS MIRACLE”, “HE CAUGHT A GUTSHOT ON THE RIVER”, and so on and so forth.<span> </span>Though most poker players very quickly become fed up and quickly dismissive of hearing stories about past hands and past scenarios in cash games and tournaments alike, hidden in table chatter can be tells and clues about how any particular player’s style shapes their game.<span> </span>I have, like most other players, been very dismissive of bad beats stories, bored by players replaying ‘suckouts’ a hundred times over, or rehashing their moment of triumph where an ill-fated call with J9 off suit cracked a set of Aces etc…….

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<span> </span>This being said I would like to give a couple of examples from my own experiences on the importance of keying in on seemingly mindless table chatter.<span> </span>During a recent session of 5/10 NL at my local poker room I was sitting in the 8 seat with a relatively large chip stack (2500 at a 500 max buy-in) and thus was playing quite conservatively, waiting for hands and just relaxing etc….. As a folded my 3<sup>rd</sup> 73 off suit in a row I began to listen to the conversations of my fellow players. <span> </span>One player (Vietnam George – VG) a boisterous, often overwhelming presence at the table due to his attitude and the sheer volume of his voice, was discussing how he stacked off all his money with Pocket 9’s on a board of :<span> </span>9h Kh Qh Jd 4h………. ON THE RIVER.<span> </span>Though by no means can VG be considered even a mediocre poker player, his explanation that he cannot fold a set at any cost was intriguing. <span> </span>Within his bad beat stories, like any other player, were little tidbits which changed the way I played HU against him.<span> </span>Now when I called a bet on the flop open ended or on a flush draw and hit, instead of check-raising I began to bet out when I assumed he had top two or better.<span> </span>

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<span> </span>Another such scenario came when seat 4, an average player at best (and a much more than average drinker) was discussing a recent hand in which 5 players called 25 preflop.<span> </span>The flop came 3d 6d 10c.<span> </span>Seat 4 open pushed for 470 (I don’t know why), and was called by seat 1, seat 3 and seat 8.<span> </span>The turn was a blank and the river was 4d.<span> </span>Seat 4 jumped up spiked his 89dd on the table.<span> </span>Seat 8 begrudgingly showed 33.<span> </span>Seat 3 showed K7dd and seat 1 showed the nut AQdd.<span> </span>I explain this hand because the intoxicated seat 4 was rehashing the story of his so-called ‘bad beat’ ( more like awful play) as well as detailing his mindset in the situation.<span> </span>Though as was mentioned earlier the tendency for the average player is to tune out the bad beat story and focus on the game, however the information provided during such stories can be extremely important.

<span> </span>Similarly, I have come to realize the importance of table chatter during a hand as a means to gather information.<span> </span>Your average player who makes a large river bet at showdown goes into his statue mode, with his dark sunglasses on, starring down at the felt.<span> </span>No matter what you say, “did you hit that flush??”, “you pair the river??” etc…. does not make him budge.<span> </span>However, a simple question which, though unrelated to the task at hand, 90% of the time (for me at least) garners an answer, and that is , What did you have for breakfast??.<span> </span>Such a simple, stupid, meaningless quip seems so pointless to the average player that they quickly answer.<span> </span>Table chatter, even if it be a simple phrase, the rehashing of a bad beat story, or the often heard saying, “if you had bet 30 I would have called” etc.. can all be put to use, if correctly interpreted to devise a better understanding of your opponents style, and whether or not the table image they purport is in line with the style they employ.

<span> </span>So next time your are sitting at your house game, your local casino, or the preliminary events at the WSOP, strike up a chat with your fellow players, whether it be on the topic of poker or a simple question as to what they may have had for breakfast, and read between the lines, since the information provided might be the difference between calling a bluff or calling into the nuts.<span> </span>