HOW TO READ YOUR OPPONENT

A useful place to start is by reading this article:

http://www.heads-up-poker.org/read-your-opponent.htm

I would advise reading the whole site tbh, but take it with a pinch of salt...

So to summarize, the only way to get a real read of your opponent is to analyise his betting patterns.

• Figure out there Pre Flop Criterian - and vary your own
• Try and narrow down there starting hands
• Look at how the position bet
• Analayse how the bet post flop - When they hit...and when they don't

It may cost some chips early on to call or re-raise to try and figure out how your Opponent plays, but it is usually well worth it.

Some sites such as the one above talk of value betting as trying to pump the pot when you know you are ahead, or in effect trying to draw some extra chips out of your oppo by putting out a tempting bet. I would say it is a little more subtle than this, as you need to figure out how good your opponent is before you know the best way to trap him or extract value.