Poker Tells and Tips

[WinJStar]

Interesting read on poker tells and tips, but their are so many. What are some that you have come across either live or online?

The Beginning of Poker Reads

Assuming you already know the basic rules of Texas Hold’em and regular poker the easiest poker tells are the ones that are so obvious that they seem to be too easy or maybe your brain has not computed they are a tell at all. One of my favorite people to play poker against is usually weekend warriors at a house game who watches too much poker on TV. The problem with watching poker on television is that for media reasons they only show you the exciting hands played and that the people usually on the final table are already walking away with 100,000 plus dollars even if they get beat on any hand so let’s throw all of that information out of the window and start from scratch. 80% to 90% of the hands you receive should not be played and you should only bluff gamble when you have established your hands as a good or decent poker player.

The number one tendency that you should be able to read with at least 50% of most weekend warrior or inexperienced poker players is the hard and soft play. The hard play is when the body language tells you that they are angry or aggressive toward the hand which usually tries to show strength or a determine focus to win you can pick this up by a few key motions. The first would be the body puff especially with guys this is almost too easy to pick up their breathing becomes heavy and start to puff up their chest pectorals to show how large they are almost to act like a bully at a school ground. The second part of hard playing is watch the knuckles of your opponents hands if they are white from grabbing the cards, poker ships, or the table too hard this is a sign of muscular flexing which is another advertisement that they believe they are being the strongest of them all. Also another key item is when they pick up their hand and put it down see how much downward force they put their cards down this is also a very big indicators a lot of players with out even knowing it will pick up and put down at different speeds for online players this is very huge because since you can not see the players reaction on a computer online if you can pick up if they are using the automated fold buttons etc. if they are manually playing and folding you should be able to pick up speed habits for online players usually a quick decision online would represent a hard play hand. Most of the time when a hard play hand is called or raised this usually signifies a very weak card hand. There are some occasion where I have seen players use the hard play and actually have a good hand but it’s very few and far between and a lot of mediocre players will already know this strategy and give you the false advertisement of a hard play to trick you into raising the pot for low experience players this should be a very easy one to pick up on. But just to make sure you should go at least 10 rounds before going after the hard handed players just to find out if it’s a true read tell.

Most players who play this way and if I can find out that this is their tendency to play aggressive and try to bluff will usually raise them twice the blind and possibly get them into a one on one all in with a decent high hand. I will take QQ over J3 any day. If they begin to hard play after the flop or after the turn card 80 percent of the time they are trying to make you fold by showing even more body strength.

As for a soft play which is usually calmly raising or even looking away from the hand as the call or raise is a good bet they have a great hand or the nuts. Again this is for inexperience players so if you play in an actual casino or poker room most experienced players play calm all the time but will not give you any reads at all. But an inexperienced player who plays softly would usually softly drop chips in front for a call or raise to bait you into raising a hand yourself. They will find ways to make them seem smaller or weak so as to trick you into feeling they have a weak playing card hand. They best way to play this would be either to fold if your hand is not strong enough or you can counter act by acting soft as well and raising the pot on a bluff in other words give them a taste of their own medicine. For online players you will notice just a regular timing of hand play or possibly if the time takes longer they may be making a decision on a hand they are completely not sure of in which this case would be soft playing but not out of the realms of a possible large hand.

The way I usually play these players is only to play when I know I have a solid top pair pre-flop and buy my time when they are not acting.

If you can find players that use both tendencies they are the perfect player to play against just raise when they hard play and just fold when they soft play its almost too easy to do this with an inexperienced player who watches too much poker on television.

[WinJStar]

Top 10 Live Poker Tells

1. Watch the Eyes
This is why many pros wear sunglasses or visors/caps when playing, they know that the eyes rarely lie. For example, many players can't help but stare at big hole cards, so their length of time peeking is longer. Conversely, if a player is looking to steal the pot, he may look to his left to see if the remaining players, who haven't yet acted, have quickly glanced at their cards and are likely to fold. Another example, a player may try to ask you questions about your hand, knowing that people rarely can "look someone straight in the eyes" while being dishonest.


2. Facial Expression
Again, many pros try to disguise their entire face by wearing a cap and looking downward. This is to avoid the classic stare-down that poker pros are famous for. They may try to study your face for nervousness (detecting a weak hand), or even look for repetitive characteristics like a body "tic". You may have obvious unhappiness in your face when your hand is weak, and conversely, you may show a contrasting show of confidence when your hand is strong.

3. Weak is Strong/Strong is Weak
In its most simplistic form, 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. For example: "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.

4. Anxiety
Anxiety typically occurs in people when they are confronted, or anticipating confrontation. Psychologists call this the "Fight or Flight" stimulus response, which links back to the days when we were cavemen/cavewomen. Physical changes happen including flexing of muscles, eye pupil dilation, palpitating heart rate, dry throat. In poker, when someone has a big hand they are typically ready for confrontation and can exhibit some of these characteristics. You may see the chest expanding abnormally, or you may notice the players voice become slightly higher as he makes a comment. Some of the top players in the game will stare at the vein on the top-side of your face for blood pressure changes. During a bluff, the player may demonstrate anxiety, but if he knows he will fold the hand if re-raised (non-confrontational end) may look quite comfortable.

5. Trembling Hands
Also, a byproduct of anxiety, beware of a player whose hands are shaking, this nervousness can represent a big hand.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Repetitive Betting Patterns
Usually the most revealing tells are based on the way a player habitually bets during particular situations. For example, maybe the player always checks when he has made the nuts, or a player may regularly fold after being re-raised.

9. Body Posture/Attitude
Some players show obvious changes in their posture based on their attitude/hand strength. For instance, you may notice their shoulders drop/slump when they are not confident (weak hand). Conversely, you may notice the player is very attentive and sitting in an erect position when he has strength. You may also notice that a player who bluffs a lot, leans forward in a confrontational way... remember Strong is Weak!

10. Chip Stacking
When you first sit down at a table, study the way the players stack their chips. Although it is a generalization, loose aggressive players typically maintain unorganized/sloppy stacks, while tight conservative players keep well organized/neat stacks.