Daniel Negreanu On Interrogating An Opponent

A few posts back I wrote about one of my favorite interrogation techniques in the 1-2 NL games in Vegas. Daniel Negreanu provides his take on the the same subject in a recent article.

One approach is to try to catch your opponent off guard, hoping to get him to relax and give a genuine reaction. Try asking a question that is non-confrontational. Here’s one that I like: “From the way you’re playing this hand, you must be from Sweden. Swedish players are nuts and so is this hand! You didn’t take lessons from Gus Hansen, did you?”

You see, Gus Hansen is known for his wild and aggressive style of play, but more apropos to your question, he’s actually from Denmark, not Sweden. If your opponent knows this, his reaction may give up some information as to the strength of his hand. He may answer, “Gus is not Swedish, he’s Danish”, and follow that up with a chuckle. He might say, “Swedish players are even crazier than Danish players!”

The ease in which he responds, and of course, what he actually says, will help you gauge his comfort level. The more comfortable he appears, the more likely he’s got a strong hand. The less comfortable he seems, the more likely he’s bluffing. It’s really that simple. The key point is that your questioning doesn’t need to have much to do with poker; it’s just about a guy named Gus who’s from Denmark, not from Sweden.

[Link to Full Article]