Live Poker Play Tells

If another poker player is going to give you free information as to what they might be holding, you’d be a fool not to take it.  This is what tells are all about.  If you notice your opponent doing any of -the following, it’s likely something you can use to either win a pot or avoid losing to a huge hand.

This is probably the most famous of all tells because every movie or TV show that has an episode featuring a poker game uses it.  If you notice a player’s hands shaking after looking down at his cards or after the flop hits, they likely have a monster.  Unless you’re holding the nuts yourself, you should likely fold whenever you see your opponent’s hand flopping around.  If you’re a hand shaker you need to either get yourself under control or train yourself to do the same shakes when you’re bluffing.

Using “The Speech” is all about being a good actor.  Here’s an example of what poker pros refer to as “The Speech”.  We were playing a home game the other night when one player glanced at his cards, declared that he needed a break and shoved all his chips into the middle.  I threw my low pair into the muck, but another player decided he would call.  The speech-giver flipped over A-K suited, which gave him two pair on the board with only the river to come.  he went on to win the hand proving his speech was total crap.  Whenever a player uses “The Speech”, they’re almost always full of it and have a big hand.

Many bad players give away the strength or weakness of their hands by the way they bet.  Picking up on this betting trend requires a good memory, but it’s well worth it.  One trend I picked up from a fellow player made  it easy to identify his buffs.  Whenever he had a good hand, he would put in a large bet or raise about three or four times the big blind.  However, almost every time he attempted a bluff or a pot steal, his bets would be gigantic, always more than give times the big blind.  Picking up on these betting trends will help you cripple players who fall into these habits.

When the cards are being dealt or the flop is being laid out, don’t look at the cards, look at your opponent.  Specifically, watch where their eyes go.  If your opponent immediately glances down at their chips, that usually means they have a hand and they’re thinking about how much to bet.  If you catch a player studying your chip stack, that also means they’ve probably got a big hand tucked away.  When they’re checking out your stack, they’re usually trying to determine how much of it they can take with their monster hand.

Don’t be fooled by players that appear clueless and ask what the bet is or if it’s their turn to wager.  Unless they truly are distracted by something, this could be an act to make themselves look dumb and vulnerable to a big bet.  This is just another fake-out by your opponents, so don’t fall for it.

The way a poker player puts their chips into the pot can give away how good or bad their hand is.  If a player casually tosses their chips into the pot, they’re likely trying to hide the fact that they’re holding a monster hand.  If they forcefully push their chips into the middle, this tends to be a sign of weakness.  The aggressive push is an act to try and compensate for their junk hand.