Poker is a game based on information availability. We don’t ever know for sure how good
or bad another player’s📉 hand is, often until it’s too late. But because poker is a game
of human interaction, we sometimes receive clues📉 from other players, based on changes
in their betting patterns or their physical demeanour, which indicates the strength or
weakness📉 of their hand. These are called “poker tells”.
A player gains an advantage if
he observes and understands the meaning of📉 another player’s tell, particularly if the
poker tell is unconscious and reliable. Sometimes a player may even fake a tell,📉 hoping
to induce his opponents to make poor judgments in response to the false poker tell.
After all, poker is📉 a game of deception.
The Two Forms of Poker Tells
Poker tells come
in two forms;
Betting patterns
Physical tells
Betting patterns are the most📉 dependable
poker tells. By studying the way a player bets both past and present, you will have
more information and📉 be better able to judge whether to check or bet. Betting patterns
will remain your main tells.
Physical tells, many of📉 which are dramatized in movies and
television, are the most fun and will be the focus of this lesson.
Obviously these📉 are
only applicable to live poker, where they can help a player win some crucial pots over
a lifetime. Unless📉 you are a savant, learning and analyzing a cluster of tells does
take some work.
Spotting Accurate Poker Tells is Hard
What📉 makes tells hard to
implement is the way they vary from player to player. For example, a player may throw
📉 his chips into the pot with force, and then leave his hands out near the action. For
most players this📉 means a big hand, for other players, it is a bluff. Some poker tells
are false, many are contradictory, and📉 some are just downright unreliable. There is no
magic to it.
As you make observation a habit, you will learn to📉 sift through these
multiple tells and notice that the first tell is very often genuine, and the shortest
tell is📉 the most reliable. Most long, drawn out tells are false, set up to confuse. We
have all seen a Hollywood📉 tell as someone makes a screwed up face of displeasure and
then bets! The general rule is that weakness usually📉 means strength, and strength
usually means weakness. But, you must decide how much weight to give a tell at any
📉 given moment. If you make learning tells fun, it will be an ever-changing, exciting
part of your poker arsenal.
A List📉 of Common Poker Tells
There are many types of poker
tells. The lists that follow in this lesson should only be📉 used as a general guide. The
reliability of each varies, and guessing the reliability of each poker tell is an📉 art
form. Many tells mean strong with one player and weak with another, it is up to you to
tell📉 the difference by being observant.
Poker tells before the cards are in the
air
Watch how players buy in. Do they buy📉 in for a full rack or a short one?
If a
player buys his chips in a loud, flamboyant, money waving📉 act, he will likely play that
way.
A conservative approach to dressing often means a conservative style of
poker.
Sloppy chips stack,📉 usually means sloppy play.
Do they handle their chips like
they know what they’re doing, or do they fumble around like📉 a rank amateur?
Poker tells
that may indicate a strong hand
Fluid speech.
Shaking hands.
Full relaxed lips.
A full,
ear to ear, relaxed smile.
Eyes📉 open, not blinking.
Stares at flop, and then glance out
of corner of eye at players.
Blood pressure is up. Red in📉 the face or throbbing vain in
neck or head.
Drawing in a big breath, nose flaring, and rapid breathing usually mean
📉 ready for action.
Glancing at chip stacks (their own or yours) to see how much to
bet.
Impatient, wants to bet.
Suddenly sits📉 back in chair, relaxed, calling or
betting.
Suddenly sits up in chair, becomes very attentive.
A player’s hands or fingers
going closer📉 toward the action, toward the middle of the table.
Anything held up in the
air, shoulders, head, nose, fingers, thumbs, or📉 eyebrows arching.
Sliding chips
delicately, quietly into the pot.
Look at flop then glancing intensely at
players.
Cheek muscles start to flex.
Some players📉 try to act relaxed, looking off at a
TV or a waitress, and then betting.
Pupils of eyes get bigger.
Protecting hole📉 cards
more than normal.
Acting weak by making a noise, sighing or shrugging as they call or
raise. (Why give away📉 information when you do not have to? This one is a classic
“weakness means strength”.)
Remember, some of these poker tells📉 are more reliable than
others. While most poker experts suggest you watch your opponent’s eyes, I suggest
looking at his📉 hands. That trembling hand syndrome is usually the sign of a good hand,
and it’s the kind of tell that📉 can’t easily be controlled either, so it’s generally
reliable.
Poker tells that may indicate a weak hand
Incoherent, forced, high pitched,
slow,📉 broken, or unnatural speech.
Holding breath and not moving.
Putting chips into
the pot with great force.
Staring right at you. (Strength means📉 weakness.)
Picking up a
handful of chips like they will go into the pot if you bet.
Play acting like they are
📉 going to turn their cards over prematurely.
Checking hole cards after flop.
Treating
their hole cards carelessly.
Inhales when misses and stares blankly📉 into space.
Breaths
through mouth when worried.
Licking or sticking out lips.
Lips tense, and get
smaller.
Upper lip develop stiffens.
Biting lip.
Tongue in cheek.
Covers📉 mouth.
Eyes
squinting.
Eyes blinking.
Eyeballs rolling.
Hand over eyes.
A fake smile.
Nail
biting.
Hugging oneself.
Hands and arms go toward the body, toward safety.
Rubbing of
hands,📉 arms, legs, neck, hair, nose, lips, and chin, to pacify oneself.
Nervously
pressing and wring ones hands till knuckles turn white.
If📉 they stop riffling chips,
shaking leg, grinding teeth, tapping, chewing toothpick or gum.
That’s quite a list.
Pick a few and📉 see if you can spot any tells next time you play live poker. Now let’s
look at some of the📉 fundamentals to successfully spotting tells and other factors you
need to consider.
Beginner Poker Tells
It’s important to recognize that beginners will
📉 not go to great lengths to confuse you with reverse tells. Don’t read too much into
their bet timing or📉 the body language they are giving off. If you are going to look for
tells, just know that the most📉 obvious ones are going to be the most accurate.
Online
Poker Tells
Since you can’t physically see your opponents when playing online,📉 the
physical tells we’ve mentioned are clearly not going to apply. Remember though, that
betting patterns are the most reliable📉 of all poker tells. Look out for changes in a
player’s betting pattern and observe their timing. A large amount📉 of time before
calling can sometimes mean a weak hand, and a fast call usually means a drawing hand.
However,📉 timing tells aren’t always reliable, since for all you know the online player
is also reading a book, watching TV,📉 or rushing back from the bathroom.
Practice is the
Key
Looking for poker tells does not come naturally for most of us.📉 But, after a while
you will observe the flow and motion of the table, sifting through countless confusing
bits of📉 information, calculating whether to check or bet, all the while relaxing,
having fun, talking, ordering drinks, and doing some cheap📉 chip tricks. Once you learn
to read the cards (mathematical odds and technical aspect) what is left? Reading
people!
You can’t📉 study everyone and everything at once. So focus attention on
individual players during your poker session, and never fail to📉 watch a showdown while
replaying what you observed during the hand and correlate it with the hands the
combatants turn📉 up. The very best time to study your opponents is when they’re involved
in a hand and you’re not.
Practice is📉 the key to reading any tell. Whether you are a
trained observer in poker or a trained criminal scene investigator📉 (CSI), the key word
is trained. Learning the poker tells listed above all at one time is difficult. It is
📉 more fun to learn a couple every time you play. For an example, one night at your
casino, home or📉 bar game pick a player and watch his energy levels. While he won’t go
from nearly comatose to sitting bolt📉 upright in his seat, most players do shuffle
around in their chair and sit upright when they have a good📉 hand – or at least a hand
they intend to play. Watch everyone’s posture all night and it will become📉 a habit and
you will ‘train’ yourself to be observant at the table.
Another way to train yourself
is to observe📉 just one or two players for the first 10 minutes and then gradually add
other players to the mix. Start📉 with the player closest to you, because they are the
ones that affect your play the most. For instance, can📉 you tell if the players to your
left are going to fold or raise? Can you tell if the opponents📉 on your immediate right
are calling with a big hand or just want to see a cheap flop? Here’s a📉 tip – players
with cards cocked in their hand who look like they’re ready to pitch them to the dealer
📉 when it’s their turn to act usually do just that. It’s not a universal poker tell, but
it’s accurate more📉 often than not.
Setting Up False Poker Tells
You do not want to give
off tells, so watch yourself. Do you lean📉 toward the action when you have a good hand?
Try this – when you have a marginal hand (such as📉 JT on the button) sit up in your
chair, be obvious, squirm around a little, raise the pot, and look📉 at the other
players. Notice who looks at you. You just gave them a false tell. They think you have
📉 a big hand. Bet the flop and watch them fold. Note which players are not sophisticated
enough to notice your📉 Academy Award performance, and be aware of the players that do
not ’seem’ to notice but are thinking, was that📉 for real, and who is this hot
dog.
Don’t Overestimate the Importance of Tells
Some poker players spend way too much
time📉 searching for unconscious poker tells and greatly overestimate there importance.
Every poker player knows that they are supposed to hide📉 their emotions and disguise
their true intentions. Even people who don’t play poker know this. Sure, some players
will exhibit📉 obvious physical tells from time to time, but the conscious things that
poker players do at the table are of📉 far greater significance.
Focus on the bigger
picture first and categorize your opponents. Are they tight-aggressive? Are they
loose-passive? How tricky📉 are they? Putting players into broad categories that define
their playing style and tendencies will help you far more than📉 concentrating on the
small and unconscious things.
Conclusion
Physical poker tells are nowhere near as
important as studying betting patterns and playing📉 styles. Once you have mastered these
then, and only then should you look for the classic poker tells that many📉 players
exhibit. But tells are fun, and very few players concentrate on this part of the game –
so you📉 will have an advantage. Granted, poker tells will not make you money on every
hand or every hour, but over📉 time, they will add to your profitability. In any
business, if you could increase profits you’d be very happy.
