opinions on mike caro's book of tells

[Abbaddabba 0]

Has anyone found the advice in it to be useful? I borrowed a copy from a friend and, from the standpoint of someone who has primarily based decisions on betting patterns more than mannerisms, it seems almost too good to be true. Obviously the efficacy is highly dependent on how observant you are (and being new to it, the advertised "hourly profit" is probably overstated for myself). If you've read it, how have you felt that it's worked for you?

[Smasharoo 0]

Useless.

[Nimbletoe 0]

Useless.

Couldn't have said it better myself. It only gives advice on tells that are either about fish (whom you can tell what they have thanks to betting patterns) or obvious tells that some people can't control, like shaking. Don't waste your time/money, unless you know absolutley nothing about tells whatsoever. Even then... meh.

[Abbaddabba 0]

Useless at all limits?

[Drum Infected 0]

you can stick it under your other monitor to level out both your screens

[Nimbletoe 0]

Useless at all limits?

Yus.

[Abbaddabba 0]

Well alright then. Are there any useful books on that subject?

[Guest Anonymous]

what about online tells? sometimes if someone acts really fast they're bluffing, i've observed.

[Erudis 0]

or they're multi-tabling...

[NortonFan 0]

Yes it is useful, even if to show you the basics.

[PrtyPSux 0]

or they're multi-tabling...

or really really quick

[steve7stud 0]

I think it's a pretty good book. Being aware of tells is really important, especially at higher limits. No limit in particular is a game full of tells. I honestly haven't read the book in quite some time. But when I did read it, I found it to be informative. The study of human behavior is underrated in poker. In addition, I've won a lot of money from useful tips that I've picked up from Caro. Certain things that you as a player can do, to induce a call. Obviously, if you're only playing online. You wouldn't have much need for the book. Most poker players have the desire to eventually play live and play tournamnets as well. Any information that you can get that will assist you in making the right decision is always a bonus. Watch Phil Ivey sometime. ( There's a ton of footage of him playing tournaments) The guy is always watching what's going on. He's ALWAYS looking for tells. In fact, most pros are. The cards you have will never change. Observing the reactions of other players is where the money is made. Good Luck.

[TraptSteve 0]

Diagastino (iuno how to spell it) picked up on that one guys weakness w/ queens when the ace flopped at the final table of the USPC.Hallister (iuno how to spell it) looked like he shit himself... just staring at that ace. John should have went all in on the flop like Helmuth did to the Matador in the World Championship of Poker. Lol.-sw-

[akishore 0]

i find it very useful to beat weak NL HE games, in combination with playing your own cards well and studying betting patterns...for limit games, it's pretty useless especially since tells sometimes can't even hold much weight in a decision.aseem

[justblaze 0]

i find it very useful to beat weak NL HE games, in combination with playing your own cards well and studying betting patterns...for limit games, it's pretty useless especially since tells sometimes can't even hold much weight in a decision.aseem

i think the value is far less in the specific tells he points out than in gaining an understanding of how opponents think in general. Trying to figure out how an opponent thinks and then extracting from that some physical tells as well as betting pattern tells. A prime example was in the 10-20 game i normally play. An older gentleman (we'll call him grampa) had a pretty big betting tell. He would always checkraise the turn with better than top pair. With AKo on the button, i was three-handed with him and one other on a flop with 2 diamonds, ace high. When the third diamond hit the turn, he checked to me. However, as i was about put in a bet, i noticed him neatly stacking $40 in chips behind his stack. I checked, and then check-folded the river bet, which the other player called. Big surprise, grampa had the nut flush. I saved 3 big bets by deducing that a) he always checkraised with nut or very strong hands and B) via a physical tell, he was about to checkraise.

[DCSports92GSR 0]

The content in the book itself is slightly outdated, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. As far as i'm concerned, you should be buying every book you can get your hands on. You are NEVER going to stop learning from poker ( as long as you keep an open mind ).Sure, some of the "tells" listed in teh book are obvious... shaking, reaching for chips when you bet... but some are also more subtle...and can save you a BB here or there, like the guy above me said.

[kindofblu 0]

I think Caro's is good for beginners to get rid of their own tells. When even one starts, they all do the same things. Although I dont think it holds much water when reading players, it helps get rid of the obvious tells beginners usually have.

[goldenteemaster 0]

Interesting that all those who've decided the book was useless didn't give any good reasons for their opinion :roll: . One stated that the tells discussed only apply to fish but that's not the case as each tell is rated on a reliability percentage for weak, average and strong players. IMO, the book is excellent for live players. First off, they give a good background on basic human reactions and what to watch for. For an inexperienced live player, figuring out these little things can cost quite a bit so it can save you some cash along the learning curve. Secondly, I find the tips very usefull to help me misrepresent what I'm doing. For example, if a standard tell in a given scenario indicates a bluff, I can go out of my way to have that tell when I'm not bluffing. Basically a reverse application of tells. Anyway, IMO, it's worth the money for any live player. If you're only a online player, you're not real poker player yet anyway so don't bother with the book :wink: