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By DANIEL NEGREANU
Card Shark Media

The questions that I'm probably asked the most are, "How do you read players," and, "how do you figure out what they have?"

Well, there is no secret, earth-shattering formula to put opponents on a hand, but there are some things you should look for when sizing them up.

What are they wearing? Clothing choice and personal appearance can often tell you something about their approach to poker. An opponent who is clean-shaven, has neat hair and wears traditional clothing reveals plenty about his personality.

It should tell you that this player leans toward the conservative. Chances are his poker game will mimic his outward appearance.

Conversely, if your opponent wears a stained shirt, has uncombed hair and a 5-o'clock shadow and is generally not put together, his poker-playing style is likely to be wild, loose and unpredictable.

However, like anything else, there are exceptions to the rules, so any form of player stereotyping should be done cautiously.

What do they do for a living? Obviously, if your opponent is a professional poker player, you can safely make some assumptions as to how he plays the game. For one, he'll take it seriously — he's much less likely to play wildly. He'll usually play poker by the book.

A professional's style makes fundamental sense. For this reason alone, it's often easier to narrow down a pro's possible holding than that of a novice.

That doesn't mean that it's easier to play against a pro. Trust me, it isn't.

Let's say you know that an opponent likes to limp in from early position with small pairs, but when he has a hand like A-K or A-Q, he'll raise. Also, you know he won't play hands like 5-6 or A-6 suited in that position.

Now, you have A-K and the flop comes Ac-6d-4s. If that opponent check-raises you on the flop, you might be able to save a lot of money. Sure, you have a great hand with top pair and top kicker, but because you know your opponent's tendencies, you'll be able to fold, realizing that his most likely hand is 4-4 or 6-6.

People will be amazed when you say to him, "Pocket fours or pocket sixes, right?" Of course, because you have a solid read on the cards he likes to play, it was hardly magic at all. It was actually rather obvious.

In addition to learning the hands people play before the flop, it's also important to study how opponents play certain hands in different situations.

The definitive skill to reading opponents is being able to figure out what type of plays they're capable of making. Learn that and you'll also know what plays they would never make.