to me, "play the man, not the cards" is probably the single most stupid advice you can give or take. unless you're playing crazy no limit games with tons of cash, or homegames where ppl dont really care, it doesn't work. what separates someone who knows how to play, and someone who KNOWS how to play? i think just experience. knowing what starting cards and positions to play, knowing what your odds are for hitting a card on turn or river, etc. it has nothing to do with playing ur man.

say, for example, you have AQs in the hole, and ur opponent has 55. flop comes AQ5 rainbow. he pushes all-in. what do you do?

call. anyone would call. any pro would call. this has nothing to do with reading ur man, psychology, psych-out crap. you call. and you can't even consider that a bad read, because nobody would ever think someone has 55 and throw away top 2 pair.

however, what you CAN do is pick up on his betting patterns: raises, checks etc. but as for stuff like how he puts his hand to his chin, scratches his ass or any of that other crap, it makes no sense to me. i dont think i know how to read ppl, but it just annoys me. i hate it when someone tries to stare u down when u make a bet. what exactly are they trying to read? if i happen to cough, is he gonna call or raise?

i dont know why i feel the need to tell you this. too much watching poker on tv i guess.