Poker Strategy - Poker Tells

You can find many poker tells in the way a person reacts to a situation. One of the best ways is to see how they are looking at you, how they are looking at the cards or reacting to the cards or bets made.

Weak is Strong / Strong is Weak

Mike Caro (author of: The Book of Tells) is the one accredited with the most influential work of spotting tells. The book is based on the simple fundamental premise that when a players act weak, their hand is strong, and when they act strong, their hand is weak. This usually applies to novice players but frequently applies to pros as well. Basically, players like to be actors, and when they have a monster hand they tend to look disinterested. E.g. "Oh, is it my turn to act" or "Oh I guess I will play these cards". Alternatively, a player increasing the level of his voice while raising the pot, and trying to look intimidating may be running a bluff.

As well as having the accolade of being the best no limit hold'em player ever, Stu Ungar was probable the best reader of other players. Poker is a game of wagering with imprecise information, everything you can pick up from a person goes that little bit further to putting the jigsaw puzzle together. When you detect true weaknesses in players you can exploit it by making a massive raise with your 7-2offsuit. Though, in return you have to make sure that your own body language doesn't leak information about your hand like a gas pipe

Looking Straight at You

During a crucial moment of a hand, it usually means they don't have a very good hand. They are watching your every reaction to see what you're going to do. They don't want you to call or raise and usually, they are bluffing and are hoping you'll fold. The psychology behind this is that the person doesn't look at you when they have a good hand, so if they are looking right at you, they must not have a good hand. An opponent with a good hand doesn't need to look at you to see whether you are leaking tells, whatever they do they will bet. Also there is double-bluff from normal psychology occurring. Usually when a person is lying it is difficult to another person they rarely engage in eye contact. So by staring and making eye contact with you at the poker table, they are trying establish the image of a made hand, rather than a bluff. As always get to know your opponents and watch what how they act and play specific hands.

Looking Away From the Flop

This tell suggests that a person will look away immediately when the flop is strongly in their favor. They quickly see that they are in the hand and don't want to deter anyone from playing. Therefore they look long at their cards or may even strike up a conversation.

Chip Tells

Watch while the opponents chip behaviour when they are finishing their bet. A little extra emphasis usually means a weak or vulnerable hand. This is hard to spot but can be a very profitable tell. An easier, but rarer chip behaviour to observe is the re-stacking of a fallen bet stack. A player who is bluffing is more likely to restack their fallen bet than a player who has a strong hand.

Glance at Chips

Again, relating to the eyes. It is common for players to quickly glance at their chips if they connect with the board after a Flop. This may be a subconscious reaction, but the player is already planning his attack.

Pondering over a Play

After all the cards have been dealt, the people considering to play will usually; hold their cards, play with them, or stack them neatly aside while watching the other players. The rest of the players will play with their cards in some other way which means they will most often fold. Therefore there can be many times in a live game when you see people exhibiting the signs of folding at the table. At these times, you may want to take a stab at buying the pot. Also, look for the players that purposely hold their cards too long. They will usually be watching you and the others and will wait until the last minute before they make their decision. This is a tough to fold sign meaning that that particular player likes to play. They don't really ever want to fold and may sometimes be playing cards they shouldn't.

Peeking Hole Cards on Flop

Some players will take another look at their hole cards when, for example, the board is showing a potential 3 card flush draw. Typically, the player is looking to see if one of his cards is connecting, because he remembers only that the two cards are different suits.

Tense Mouth

Mouths can tell a lot about a players hand. The hardest thing for a bluffer to do is hide a tense mouth. If the players appears to thin or tense up, their hand could definitely be weak.

Covering the Mouth

This carries on from the last point. If a player covers their mouth it usually means a display of weakness. However by wary of players who cover their mouth all the time; only focus on the players who display this beahviour during a hand.

The Lean Back

If you spot someone leaning back in their chair, it usually means they have a good or strong hand. The game has been tense and it is finally time for them to relax for a moment. Therefore if you spot someone leaning back, keep in mind that they may have a good hand.

The Lean Forward

A person leaning forward is generally very interested in the game. They either have a good hand or are on a good draw waiting to catch. After all, what do you do if you have a good hand or are on a good draw? Lean forward to see the cards right?

Big Sighs

When someone makes a sigh at the table, or seems disinterested in the hand, it usually means they have flopped a monster. You have been warned.

Pulse in the Neck

Unless you play players who insist on wearing scarves or polo necks at the table, this is a tell that physiologically no-one can get away from. If you can see the players pulse working overtime, it could well mean the player is bluffing and their adrenaline is working overtime.

Conclusion

Clues are never absolute indicators of hands. The vast majority of tells are only indications that push a decision in one direction or another, not an absolute mirror onto the hand they possess. You should weight a tell along with all the other factors at the table when you come to making your decision.

Carefully study your opponent's general behaviour; do they talk a lot, play with chips, tap the table. If the opponent displays their general behaviour after betting , you should worry that they have a strong hand, however players who suddenly freeze after betting are often bluffing.

The golden rule is: If you notice an opponent's tell, you do not tell the player or taunt them that you know the tell, only an idiot would do this, or someone who has watched too much Rounders, where Matt Damon exposes his opponent's tell.

Try not to appear that you're reacting to a tell. Once you spot the tell, hesitate, and pretend to ponder. Finally, make your move as if still undecided. The more quickly you react to a tell, the more likely you are to tip off your opponent that you are reading him, and the more likely he is to correct the behavior. Remember to hesitate, if you don't your opponent is likely to become conscious of the tell and put safeguards in place in the future.

For more information on poker tells the recommended text is Mike Caro's Book of Tells.