In the first part, we already discussed two main traits that help to form a clearer psychological portrait of the opponent, so let's move on to the next two:
- Image/sensitivity to momentary psychological advantage
Image and sensitivity to the moment show how a person reacts to the player's image and how they feel the moment of the match. For example, if someone is very sensitive to image, they will immediately tighten up after losing a big pot (because they think you will conclude that the opponent is tilting). If a player is not so sensitive to image and the moment, in such a situation, they will continue to play aggressively. Either because they feel nothing and pay no attention to their opponent's image, or because they think you respect them enough and there is no need to react quickly to a bad image.
And finally:
- Attachment to money
These attachments are a measure of how attached a player is to the investments they have already made in the game. Those who have a strong attachment to this will chase lost money and have trouble folding strong hands when the situation on the board changes. Instead, in such situations, they will decide in advance to bluff and will react less to information that should already be discarded as irrelevant. Such a player often gets stuck in the belief that they deserve to win the pot and will play in a questionable style just to confirm their belief. Emotionally strong players are less likely to succumb to this trait, unlike those prone to tilting.
Players who play above their bankroll limits are also usually strongly attached to their investments. Even if their behavior is lower risk. This is true even if they are particularly cautious in situations where they choose to take risks. And when they choose such a situation, they overcommit to the pots they invest in, depending on how valuable the chosen pot is to them. This means that if such a player puts a clearly large amount of money into the pot, you should be careful about a possible bluff.
Observing each of these psychological traits of the opponent can lead to many correct conclusions in situations you have never encountered before.
For example, let's say the opponent we are playing against is prone to taking risks, overestimates their approach to difficulties, is completely insensitive to the other player's image, and is strongly attached to the invested money. Immediately after losing a pot, they shove on the river trying to represent a runner-runner straight. What conclusions can we draw?
First, they expect to play a risky game, second, they probably consider their opponent not very smart. Third, they have no intention of tightening up or reacting appropriately after losing a big pot. Finally, they are strongly attached to the money they have put in and do not want to give it up easily. Although their shove may be an abnormal bluff situation in your standard model, the conclusions we made by forming the psychological portrait of the opponent clearly indicate that we can make a call in this situation.
