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Poker Tells
Poker tells are what gives a player away when he is bluffing or has a good hand. Reading poker tells are a great way to increase your chances of winning. Obviously if you can tell when another a player is bluffing or playing a weak hand, then it increases your chances of winning pots against them. The only problem is that some experienced players may know what their involuntary tells are and subsequently do the same things on purpose when they have a good hand to try and fool people into thinking that they are bluffing. Most amateur players won't do this though and most won't even realise that they are doing things to give themselves away. You need to closely watch what players doing when playing a hand and then relate it to the strength of the hand when or if it is shown, then see if this behavior is repeated.
Poker tells to look out for:
Staring Players Down: Generally, players who stare others down have a weak or marginal hand, and are trying represent strength by staring you down.
Checking Hole Cards After A Flop: This can indicate that the flop has given the possibility of a flush or straight draw and the player is checking their cards to see what suit they are.
Stalling Before Calling: Probably means that the player is working out the pot odds and that they are waiting for a card to complete a flush or straight. They are deciding whether the amount to call is a good value bet or not based on how much is already in the pot and what card(s) they are trying to catch.
Holding Breath: A lot of beginners will hold their breath if they are bluffing.
Trembling Hands: Beware the player with shaking hands as this usually means that they player has an excellent hand.
Glance At Chips: If a player makes a good hand with the flop, then they make a quick glance at their chips to see how much they can bet.
Similar Betting Patterns: Some players may always check when they have a good hand or nearly always fold to a re-raise.
How The Chips Are Put Into The Pot: Some players don't realise it, but they have different ways of putting their chips into the pot depending on whether they have a weak or strong hand. For example, some players may put their chips in with their right hand when they have a strong hand and put them in with their left hand when they have a weak hand. Some players are known to throw in their chips when they are bluffing so watch out for this too.
Acting Disinterested In Hand: If someone is pretending they are not interested in a hand whilst they are still in it, then they more than likely have a very good hand.
Anxiety: This naturally occurs when people are anticipating confrontation, and if signs of anxiety are displayed then it usually means that the player has a good hand as they are ready for confrontation. Signs of anxiety include palpitating heart rate, dilation of eye pupil, muscle flexing.
Stacking Of Chips: Generalising, tight conservative players typically have well organized chips whilst loose aggressive players tend to be more disorganized with their chips.
Body Posture: Some players may give away the strength of their hands with their posture. They may sit up straight when playing stronger hands and slump when playing weaker hands.
Eyes And Face: The eyes can give away a lot and this is why you will see a lot of poker pros wearing sunglasses. Players often look a little longer at their hole cards if they have good cards. Some players may have a facial tic or show unhappiness in their face with a weaker hand. Some players may make a large raise and then look down whilst waiting for a call, or stare at the player deciding whether to call. You need to pay attention then remember what that player did when the hand is shown to be weak or strong, then see if they act differently next time they make a large raise.
How Cards Are Laid On The Table: Some players may lay their cards down differently on the table depending on how weak or stong their hand is e.g. neatly next to each other if strong or overlapping if weak, or some may put their cards under their chips if strong and laid out on table if weak.
Betting Tactics: As an example, some players may check quickly if they are waiting for a card. If they then have a good hand that they try to slow play, they may think about what to do first for a while but then check, but this can be a give away with some people that they are trying to slow play a monster hand. Another common betting tell is that some players will announce their raise with higher volume when they have a strong hand.
Online poker tells to look out for are the speed of bets. If a call/raise comes in immediately when it gets to a player's turn then that player must have used the feature to call/raise any bet and more than likely is not bluffing, so be wary. Also, if someone takes a long time to bet then comes in with a raise, be wary too as they are probably trying to trap you. If they take a long time to bet then just call you then they probably have a weak hand.
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