Poker is a highly strategic game and, contrary to popular belief, is not all about luck. Those who make money playing poker as professionals, are able to stay one step ahead of their opponents and are able to anticipate, often correctly, how their opponents are going to play. The game of poker is not only about playing your cards well, but it is also about reading your opponents and trying to understand their thought process, style of play and current situation, so that you can adjust and play accordingly.
To make the most out of a poker session, you need to be able to figure out with a certain amount of confidence what your opponents might be holding. You must be able to make the right decisions based on this information for a profitable poker session. When you are playing poker, you will constantly be receiving information about your opponents by observing them closely and you need to be able to analyze this information and see the bigger picture to be successful as a poker player. If you struggle to come to profitable conclusions from all the bits and pieces of information then you will struggle as a poker player too.
Thought levels in poker
Figuring out what your opponents might be holding with a high level of accuracy can be a very daunting task. As a poker player, you need to be able to focus and think clearly on multiple levels to be able to read your opponents well and to your advantage. This concept of multiple level thinking was postulated in the book ‘NL Holden Theory and Practice’ by David Sklansky. This concept outlines the various thought levels that a poker player can be in. Here they are:
- Level 0 – there is no thinking in this level
- Level 1 – player thinks about what he has
- Level 2 – player thinks about what other have
- Level 3 – player thinks about what others think he/she has
- Level 4 – player think about what do others think he/she thinks they have
- Level 5 – player thinks about what do others think he/she thinks they think he/she has
Most players will not be thinking more than this during any poker game so it is safe to say that there is no point going deeper into the thought levels. It is in fact very hard to even attain such multiple thought levels and even harder to understand and explain such high levels of thought. A poker player who has just started out will be at level 1 or 0 of the various thought levels whereas experienced players who play poker professionally will be at level 4 or 5.
More about the different though levels in poker
Level 0
Being at level 0 is not really something poker players want to do. This level is not really a level to aspire to, when it comes to multiple levels of thinking in poker. This level is used to show how one can progress to the next levels and what the most basic level of thinking is. Even players that just start out quickly leave level 0 to attain much higher levels of thinking. Players who are at level 0 are the ones who do not even know the rules of the game or are just playing poker for the fun of it, especially when they are drunk, and are not really thinking about how they are playing or what they are doing.
Level 1
This is also a pretty basic level and players coming to terms with the rules of poker and understand the different hand ranks in poker are the ones who are at this level of thought. Such players spend most of their time during the session trying to understand how strong their hand is and if they have any chance of winning the hand. Players are level 1 cannot bluff easily as they are not reading their opponents.
Level 2
This is the level of thought of most poker players. Poker players who have played the game for quite some time, but have not yet won a lot or large bets are the ones who will be in this level of thinking. Players at level 2 will try to figure out what their opponents are holding but they do not have enough experience and knowledge to use strategy and mathematics correctly in such situations.
Level 3
Players at this level of thinking are the ones who are winning and are always thinking about their opponents, trying to analyze others around them. As a result, they can make more accurate bets and can understand when the time is ripe to bluff or call bluffs in the game. Basically, the difference between a player in level 2 and one in level 3 is the players in the latter level are winning.
Level 4
Attaining a level 4 of thinking can be quite tricky. As players get better at poker and gain more experience and knowledge, they will be able to reach this level of thinking. Even if a player is able to think at this level, it can be very difficult to use that information and astute thought process to his/her advantage. There are not many players who can think at this level and use it to their advantage.
Level 5
This is probably the highest level of thinking for poker players and no one knows if anybody is actually at this level. Thinking at this level itself seems very remarkable and being able to use it to one’s advantage will be truly miraculous.