Poker tells

Even people who do not play poker are usually aware of the concept of poker tells. A tell is some kind of behavior, facial expression, mannerism, etc. that is triggered when someone has a good hand, is indecisive, or is bluffing. Examples would be that someone with a good hand taps his finger impatiently or someone who is bluffing scratches his chin. Tells can be almost anything. We all have tells. Some people might think they have good poker faces, but they don’t. As you scrutinize your opponents you will begin to notice even subtle changes. And your study of the other players does not have to be limited to watching them in the heat of a tough betting decision. You should watch people as much as possible, especially between hands. In The Body Language of Poker, Mike Caro opens his book by stating that “Valuable information can be learned about players by observing them between hands.” (page 3). For starters one thing you might learn is what a person looks and acts like when the pressure is off. Then you can get a feel of someone’s baseline normal.

Mike Caro’s book is packed with tremendously good information and insight about poker tells. I would dare to say that every page of his book can improve your poker game. It will certainly help you fine tune your people game. Here is one of Caro’s surprising insights. You would typically think that someone who is bluffing would exhibit nervousness. Caro, however, found that people who are bluffing try so hard to control their emotions that they often show an outward calm. Now to make things weirder, he goes on to declare that a player who has a good hand might appear nervous. Making a big hand can cause the player to noticeably shake, which is a release of tension and display of excitement. Caro cautions that misinterpreting signs of nervousness can be terribly expensive. Caro added that even in no-limit poker, players tend to appear calm when bluffing. (pages 27-28).

Poker tells definitely exist and you must try to discover these important bits of information as you examine your opponents. You also must try to be mindful of your own actions and limit the amount of non-verbal information you are giving the other players. Although you want to strive to reduce the amount of information you are revealing about any particular pair of cards that are cooking in your hands, you do want to convey information to your opponents. This is called your table presence.

Continue: Establishing your table presence