A tell in poker is anything that gives away information about our opponent’s possible hole cards.
This facet of poker is 👄 especially crucial in live games, where many players give away information through their body language.
In this guide to common poker 👄 tells, we’ll look at 10 specific poker tells that we can use in-game to get extra information about our opponents.
Interpreting 👄 Tells
It’s essential to remember that tells mean different things for different players. We have created a list of common tells 👄 below. But the actual meaning of a tell could easily end up being the opposite depending on the opponent in 👄 question.
Also, something that might be a tell for one player might be meaningless for another. So how do we know 👄 what tells mean for individual opponents? We first need to observe each player’s default profile.
What is a Default Profile?
The term 👄 ‘default profile’ describes how our opponent typically acts when not in a high-pressure situation.
The first step in picking up on 👄 tells is to try and get a feel for each player’s default profile.
What is their mood/posture?
Are they chatty?
Do they use 👄 a card protector or perform chip tricks?
How often do they typically spend looking at their hole cards?
These changes in the 👄 default profile allow us to pick up information regarding our opponent’s hand strength.
For example, if our opponent is constantly checking 👄 his cards even though he usually doesn’t, this often means something.
We won’t always know the meaning of a tell straight 👄 away. But we will eventually pick up on the implication as we continue to watch our opponent.
In online games, the 👄 type of opponent we face has a significant impact on the types of hands they will show. Check out this 👄 guide to hand reading for more information.
List of Common Tells
We’ll focus on 10 specific tells that we might spot in 👄 our opponent’s game. The meaning of each tell is not guaranteed and simply provides one possible explanation for the listed 👄 tell. This list is not exhaustive - there are literally hundreds of different possible tells. For a broader overview of 👄 where to look when searching for tells check out this writeup on body language in poker.
1. Eyes Glance at Our 👄 Stack Depth = Strong
Poker Tells: Eyes Glance at Our Stack Depth = Strong
Let’s imagine we are heads up vs one 👄 opponent when the turn card is dealt. As soon as the turn card appears, our opponent immediately glances at our 👄 stack.
Why is he doing this?
It often means that he has connected hard with the turn.
The next obvious question he might 👄 ask himself is how much he needs to bet to win our whole stack by the river. From a less 👄 strategic point of view, he might simply be eyeing our stack to see how much he can potentially win now 👄 that he has turned the nuts.
This tell is especially interesting if the glance is very brief . It’s almost as 👄 if our opponent doesn’t want us to know that he is counting our chips.
In other situations, players might directly ask 👄 us ‘how much we are playing’ or even ask the dealer for a count. This play is less of an 👄 indicator of strength. It’s almost as if our opponent wants us to know that he is eyeing our stack in 👄 an attempt to convince us he is stronger.
2. Forceful Chip Movements = Weak
Sometimes our opponents slide their chips gracefully into 👄 the pot. Other times they force their chips forward aggressively.
According to many experts, aggressively placing chips into the pot is 👄 more a sign of weakness than strength. Poker is a game of deception at its core. So, if a player 👄 is attempting to telegraph strength, there is an above-average chance that they are indeed weak.
Poker Tells: Strong Eye Contact = 👄 Weakness
At an elementary level, prolonged eye contact with someone we don’t know well can be threatening.
Imagine our opponent has just 👄 made a large bet on the river and is now making strong eye contact while waiting for us to act.
This 👄 sign is more likely to weakness than strength.
A genuinely strong opponent won’t want to make us feel uncomfortable about making 👄 the call. They are far more likely to try and create a non-threatening environment by looking down or staring off 👄 into space.
It’s also simply harder for a player to take their eyes off the action when everything is on the 👄 line (e.g., in the case of a big bluff). It’s easier to be relaxed about things when we hold the 👄 nuts and know that the outcome of the hand is going to be good either way.
4. Conversation = Weakness
Players with 👄 a super big hand are unlikely to be making small talk about the weather or some other topic. They are 👄 usually focused on playing their hand in the best possible way and maximizing its value.
Sometimes this can be a big 👄 giveaway if a player is usually quite chatty. Then the conversation abruptly dries up when a specific card falls. In 👄 itself, a player quietly focusing on the action is not a tell. But if they are typically talkative , it 👄 can be quite revealing.
, it can be quite revealing. Imagine a player who is always chatty when their hand is 👄 weak but goes silent as soon as their hand improves. We might be able to get out of the way 👄 very frequently when we sense they are interested in the pot. On the flip side, if they continue to chat, 👄 we might find opportunities to pick up the pot with a well-timed bluff. Why not check 888poker’s complete guide to 👄 bluffing in poker?
5. Sudden Better Posture = Interest in Continuing
Poker Tells Sudden Posture Change
Next time we are at the poker 👄 table, we might take a moment to look at how the other players are sitting:
Relaxed and laid back?
Hunched over and 👄 focused?
Do they seem serious, happy, angry, or neutral?
A sudden change in their demeanour and posture often indicates a shift in 👄 interest levels.
The classic example is a poker player leaning back, relaxed, seemingly disinterested in the action. Perhaps they are even 👄 ordering food or drinks from the bar.
Then, after being dealt particular hole cards, he suddenly sits up straight and seems 👄 absorbed in the action.
This scenario might also happen postflop after a specific turn and river cards. It might not always 👄 mean that Villain has a monster holding. But it almost always means that Villain has a hand of some interest, 👄 perhaps a draw, for example. We might assume that it’s unlikely we will fold Villain off his holding with a 👄 small bet in such situations. On the other hand, if he had kept his relaxed, laid-back demeanour, we might assume 👄 that we can pick up the pot cheaply with a well-timed bluff.
6. Constant Card Rechecks = Likely Draw
Players are free 👄 to recheck their hole cards at any point in the hand. If players were to always check their hole cards 👄 at the same point in a hand, it wouldn’t give away information.
But many players get into the habit of checking 👄 some types of holdings more often than others.
Imagine we are dealt black Aces preflop. It’s a relatively easy hand to 👄 remember. (No one forgets that they have Aces, right?) The chances of us needing to recheck our hole-cards postflop are 👄 low.
Let’s imagine the flop comes monotone (all three of the same suit). We might be curious as to whether we 👄 have flopped a flush draw.
But since we know both of our Aces are black, we’d probably remember whether we have 👄 the flush draw.
We wouldn’t need to recheck our hole cards.
Now let’s imagine we are dealt one red and one black 👄 ace. The flop comes down all diamonds.
Do we have the flush draw?
Well, we know that we have one of the 👄 red Aces. But we might need to double-check our hole cards to see if we hold the A♦ or the 👄 A♥.
Say we get into more complex drawing hands such as the different types of straight draws and combo draws. Now, 👄 it becomes increasingly more likely we’ll need to recheck our hole-cards to confirm that we have connected with the board.
So, 👄 constant card rechecks from an opponent increases the likelihood that he has connected with the board in a complex way 👄 and is drawing. Note also, in Hold’em, that mid-range holdings (such as 79s and 89o) often connect with the board 👄 in more complex ways than high-card type holdings (such as AKo).
7. Longer Card Apex = More Complex Holding
Longer Card Apex 👄 = More Complex Holding
To further improve the quality of the previous read, many poker players focus on something called their 👄 opponent’s card apex.
When players check their hole cards, they usually do so by lifting one edge of their hole cards 👄 while the main body of the cards rests on the poker table. The point at which the edge of the 👄 hole cards is raised to its highest point is known as the card apex.
At this moment, a player is reading 👄 the two hole cards they have been dealt.
It would be hard to pick up any tells if a player always 👄 had a card apex of precisely the same length. But many players have different card apexes for different types of 👄 holding, allowing us to pick up small pieces of information.
The fastest card apex preflop is presumably with a holding like 👄 red or black aces. It’s easy to remember both preflop and postflop.
card apex preflop is presumably with a holding like 👄 red or black aces. It’s easy to remember both preflop and postflop. When a player looks down at 68o, they 👄 will typically take a bit longer to try and remember both the ranks and the suits. Similar things occur postflop. 👄 Say our opponent has connected with the board in a complex way (combo-draw, for example). So, he will likely take 👄 a bit longer looking at his hole cards before moving on.
Common Online Tells
Players often wonder whether tells only apply to 👄 live play or whether it’s possible to spot tells in an online environment. Tells are a much more significant part 👄 of live play. But tells still exist in online poker. Let’s review some online tells to complete our list.
8. Online: 👄 No Auto Rebuy = Weaker Player
Experienced online poker players generally make use of a feature known as auto-rebuy for cash 👄 games.
This feature automatically tops up a player stack to 100 big blinds if it falls below this amount.
Weaker players are 👄 often hesitant to use this feature or might not realise it exists. Perhaps the reason that they could easily lose 👄 track of how much they were down with auto-rebuy enabled.
When we sit down at an online table, and a player 👄 has less than 100bb in their stack, we can assume they do not have auto-rebuy enabled. This useful tell allows 👄 us to find online tables that are likely filled with weaker players. (Even though we may have never played against 👄 the players at the table before.)
9. Online: Unorthodox Sizing = Weaker Player
Online: Unorthodox Sizing = Weaker Player
There are particular betting 👄 patterns that are common to advanced players. When a player at our table deviates from these betting patterns, it’s usually 👄 an indication that he is not an experienced player.
Let’s take a simple example that anyone can spot regardless of experience. 👄 Generally, advanced Hold’em players don’t generally open-limp preflop (apart from in the small blind, which is completing).
As soon as we 👄 see a player at our table open-limp , this is a pretty big tell that they are not an experienced 👄 poker player.
The same is true for postflop bet-sizings, although this takes more experience depending on the scenario. As a quick 👄 example, advanced Hold’em players usually cbet between 25% and 33% pot in 4bet pots.
Say a player at our table is 👄 consistently betting half pot on the flop in 4bet pots. This tell indicates that they lack experience. Spotting bet sizing 👄 tells can take some experience. We first need to know the standard sizing in a specific situation before recognising that 👄 our opponent is deviating from it.
10. Online: Chatbox = Weaker Player
While table banter might be a big part of live 👄 poker, it often doesn’t feature in many online games. This situation occurs despite the fact that online poker tables often 👄 have chatboxes. These also have social features such as emojis and throwables .
Average regulars would often prefer to add an 👄 extra table or focus more intently on the action than spend their time socialising.
As a result, if a player is 👄 typing away in the chatbox, it significantly decreases the likelihood that they are strong winning players. So, chatbox action is 👄 therefore a good thing. It indicates that the opposition is likely soft and that the players are there to have 👄 fun rather than to make money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the same tell mean different things? Absolutely. A tell which means one 👄 thing for one player could mean something entirely different for another. So, we must learn to spot tells and understand 👄 what each tell means on an individual level (for each opponent).
What is a reverse tell in poker?
A reverse tell is 👄 where a player tries to give off a fake tell to mislead their opponents. For this reason, we should not 👄 blindly stick to one interpretation of a particular tell.
is where a player tries to give off a to mislead their 👄 opponents. For this reason, we should not blindly stick to one interpretation of a particular tell. In some cases, a 👄 tell might be legitimate. While in other cases, the meaning might be the opposite because our opponent is deliberately trying 👄 to mislead us with a reverse tell.
How do I know if I am giving off tells?
It’s naturally difficult to know 👄 whether we are giving off tells. The whole idea behind a tell is that it is an involuntary action. If 👄 we knew about a specific tell, we’d find a way to conceal it.
action. If we knew about a specific tell, 👄 we’d find a way to conceal it. In other words, no player with a tell generally knows that they have 👄 that specific tell. To avoid giving away tells we need to do one of two things.
Always act consistently. Don’t act 👄 consistently but act randomly. These rules should apply to all aspects of our actions such as timing, chip shuffling, conversation, 👄 card apexes , use of a card protector and so on.
What if my opponent doesn’t have any tells?
Tells are not 👄 required to play strong winning poker. So, we should avoid relying on them too heavily. Understanding tells should not be 👄 thought of as a substitute for understanding solid poker theory .
. Even if our opponent does not appear to have 👄 any obvious tells, a strong strategy will likely win in the end.
Are there tells in online poker?
There are tells in 👄 online poker, but they play a smaller role in the game compared to live poker. Tells in online poker usually 👄 revolve around bet-sizing and timing tells . Of course, it’s difficult to know why an online player is taking a 👄 long time to act.
Perhaps they have a tough decision. Or maybe this player is simply playing a lot of tables.
and 👄 . Of course, it’s difficult to know why an online player is taking a long time to act. Tells exist 👄 in online poker. But the games revolve heavily around strategy rather than information given away by our opponents.
Tells: The Bottom 👄 Line
Being able to interpret tells and body language is an excellent tool that poker players have in their arsenal. But 👄 it can sometimes be very hard to interpret tells accurately.
For this reason, tells are generally not the most crucial thing 👄 in a given situation.
Good players often look to make use of tells in situations that are already close. They’ll use 👄 tells as a type of tie-breaker.
Say there's a situation that is theoretically a clear fold or call.
