lets talk about tells

[GamblinLeaf 0]

I don't remember where I heard this or how true it is in general, but I once heard someone say that if a player bets and stares at you REALLY hard, they're bluffing and want you to fold. It was a few weeks later that I actually caught MYSELF doing that, trying to force someone to lay down and staring at them thinking, "FOLD! FOLD! FOLD!". Fortunately they did, but it's something I'm now conscious of avoiding and something I look for in others.

[oceansize 0]

Well this has been entertaining...I'm liking the stories, good thread.The fake shake story...A few years ago, a friend came to visit from S Wisconsin, and not a card player. A good story teller, a wise businessman, just never played cards before. Another friend of mine convinces him to come out with us to our local card club (Canterbury Park) and give it a shot. So the whole morning before hand, we had him online playing freerolls and play money tables just to get a feel for action and play. I think we through some general info regarding hand selection, but nothing really about finer points...like tells.So we get out and play the ring games in Shokapee. I was actually at the same table with my Wisconsin buddy and saw him do something that made me think of him as a natural. First big hand he had, his hands shook as he reached for his chips. Everyone at the table was watching him and I was watching him notice and try to control it...he took the hand without resistance and breathed heavily trying to regain his composure. No big deal.The big deal is here. I noticed he was shaking his hands and getting flustered by it a little too often. Finally, probably the sixth time he did it in two hours, a guy from across the table said, "I wasn't going to call that last bet with my middle pair, but your hand started shaking after you had already grabbed your chips."I just love that he was able to pick up on himself that quickly and turn it into his advantage (albeit a short lived one) on the spot without every having played in a card room before. He never even played with us in college. Los

[offmandh 0]

I know that most of you guys play online. Some people don't put much emphasis on tells. But believe me, you COULD have them. that isnt very accurate. it would be more accurate to say you DO have them. whether or not your opponents pick them up or not is a different story.

[dscoot 0]

it may be hard to realize if someone else is using reverse tells, but u can use them yourself.ive heard quite a few times from pro's on tv, that leaning back in your chair means u have a good hand, while sitting forward in your chair means your weak. i took down at least two important pots this year at the wsop main event by leaning back when i was bluffing.also, this doesnt go for tells but it is a trick that i thought was slick. at the wsop me, im sitting next to some old guy that has been on the final table of a wpt b4. anyway, he's an old costa rican man with sunglasses, (probably 60+) , who didnt speak great english. blinds are like 300-600, and he's got AA in early position. he throws out two chips and says raise. the dealer announces a 10k bet ( he threw out 2 5k chips). and the guy kind of gets upset, saying he only raised 2k, (meaning to throw two 1k chips out there) the dealer explains that 10k is his bet , and he reluctantly agrees.. as it turns out some girl reraised him allin, unfortunately she had AA and they split, but i think this play could work out greatby the way this probably only sells if you are an older gentelman, or foreign , and can play the "innoncent mistake" angle

[SteveB23 0]

be deathly afraid of the person who shrugs their shoulders while calling a bet as if to say "sure why not, its only an extra X amount of dollars".

[Pokerdad2222 0]

blinds are like 300-600, and he's got AA in early position. he throws out two chips and says raise. the dealer announces a 10k bet ( he threw out 2 5k chips). and the guy kind of gets upset, saying he only raised 2k, (meaning to throw two 1k chips out there) the dealer explains that 10k is his bet , and he reluctantly agrees.. as it turns out some girl reraised him allin, unfortunately she had AA and they split, but i think this play could work out great

Had a buddy do this in a home game. he was small blind and the big blind is real agressive and its folded to him and he acts like he is folding and then all of a sudden realizes he is the small blind and so he completes. The big blind of course raises and then the small blind tells him he only did that because he thought he was gonna fold so he reraises. The bigblind didnt catch on and pushed in cause he thought the small blind was making a move. SB called with KK and BB is all pissed off saying it was an unethical move and flips up 10 2. Well, of course two 2's come on the flop and the guy is out of the tournament but the move did work for him. Should be pretty easy to pick off though

[jmar 0]

One thing that helped me a lot is watching the players while the cards come. Espessally on the flop. One guy I know will just keep starring away at that flop and it means he made a hand. Another guy speeds everything up, immediatly starts directing people: "your turn." One little problem I have is that I try not to look at my cards until it's my turn to act. But by then several people are looking at me and when I know they're looking I start giving things away. To counter that I'll try to check my cards just before my turn to act.

[gkunit20 1]

Last time I played live, I cleaned the table out for about $500. This one guy had a huge tell I managed to pick up on. He was a loud guy, but every time he had a pair of tens or better, his hand went to his mouth, and he got really quiet.

[steve7stud 0]

I'm really happy that so many people had stories to share. It's also cool that we got a good mix of vets and newer posters without flaming.I personally am not a "math" guy. So, I have often relied on instincts and tells. Eventually people get a feel for the game, and that's when everything starts to make sense ( a great place to be).Obviously be careful of reverse tells. Pros will do this sometimes. Use a common tell which should mean one thing, but in fact means another. I "think" Mike Caro said that a great way to start working on spotting tells is to pick one player in the game, and focus on him/her. I completely agree with that notion. Study people, eventually you will pick up on things.Quick story: I was playing a 10-20 no limit game at Commerce about a year ago. A friend of mine was in the game, and he's a great player. Someone new came to sit down. The guy had on a hat, and sunglasses that were covering his face from his nose to his eyebrows. My friend started complaining about the unfair advantage the other guy had. Of course my friend was a little drunk, but he genuinely seemed bothered by the lack of information that he could obtain. If someone isn't "covered up", take a advantage of that. If they are, focus on other parts of their body. One last quick story: I played a larger no limit tourny at the Bicycle Casino. Sitting to my left was Kathy Liebert. Blind vs. blind. I had pocket 8's. We got into a bit of a raising war, and saw a flop of King xx.I can't rember the action, but she won the pot with pocket queens. However, I did notice her leg shaking. Pretty sure she was nervous about the King. I didn't pull the trigger though. If I did, I might have won, I might have gone broke. Who knows?But I spotted a tell, and didn't expoit it.

[gkunit20 1]

My grandmothers' hands used to shake and that's why I always asked her to hold it for me while i peeeed...

:sick: absoloutly disgusting

[KoRnholio 2]

The strong player laid the winning hand down because the shaking was so easy to pick off and the donkey, thinking he was showing a monster, showed only top pair.

Here lies the problem of certain tells with weak players. Reminds me of a home game with a very weak friend of mine. He bet before the flop (unusual in itself) and then did the classic "glance at chips as the flop falls" indicating he was going to bet. He wasn't the type to ever do a continuation bet with a missed AK, AQ, etc. So I check-folded my middle board pair. He bet all streets and showed down pocket deuces after playing them like a big pair

[kelda 0]

Shaking hands might not be a good tell. My hands shake no matter what I got when I play, unless I have a couple of beers. Sad I know!

[jjdylan 0]

a guy in my home game has one of the most obvious tells ive picked up on...basically when he's in a pot with a strong hand, he's a big talker...whether just talking in converstaion, or digging into the other player...but when he's on a bluff, he clamps right up and doesnt say a word other than the occasional 'bet' or 'raise'

[oceansize 0]

i think another great tell are those people who just constantly act out of turn. usually it happens when someone sees the flop starts pushing checks in, realizes it's not their turn, and pulls back. likewise they fold in the same manner, cards are pushing forward, they wait for actions when they realize they dont have to fold yet and pull back...oddly enough some of these people will see a flop anyway and are ready to fold to the first bet with paint on the flop...strangeobvious advantages from these. you can lput in extra bets or save extra bets.

[Dixie Wrecked 0]

Everyone probably has some sort of subconcious tell they dont know about. The best way to overcome these even though they're unknown to you is to concentrate on acting the exact same way in every hand you're in. Concentrate on your posture, the way you bet, if you talk a lot, etc. After a while you dont have to concentrate anymore and automatically act the same way every time.side note: about the bouncing girl that was in royal's sig, how do you guys know her age? Does she have a website or are there more pics out there? :twisted:

[Guest]

This is kinda 'bush-league'... you probably wont see many ppl at B&M's doing it.My buddy, before he started taking the game very seriously, used to give off a monster tell.When he was bluffing, he'd reach for his chips, and grab a pretty large handfull. Then he would reconsider and bet maybe 2/3 of what he had originally grabbed. It screamed... "I'm going to bluff at this pot, but not TOO much. I dont want to lose too much if I get called and the bluff fails. "

[MAXIMA 0]

This is a tell that I picked up in tournament play that has seemed to be pretty consistant.Your chip are divided this way. $25.00, $100.00 and $500.00 chips.What I have notice a is person bets in early position $200.00 using 2 $100.00 chips. Another guy calls using the same 2 $100.00 chips. A third person calls using 8 $25.00 chips.What I have found more times then not the person betting the lower denomination chips usally have the weakest hand.I am not sure if they do this because they think "I just get rid of the lower chips if I don't make the flop, turn or river."Another, tell that I have noticed is if a person fans his chips they usally have a very strong hand and it is usally best to get out of his way.By the way if you are trying to get a call Spread your chip(fanning) chips this is great advertizing and will more then often get a call. I would say that this is a presentation that creates the betting impluse in someone.Maxima

[Pokerdad2222 0]

Shaking hands might not be a good tell. My hands shake no matter what I got when I play, unless I have a couple of beers. Sad I know!

Not that sad to me because I am often the same way. Maybe I have a gambling or drinking problem I guess but I still get excited everytime I sit down at a table and shake for a while until I get a couple in me. Instead of controlling this I just make sure I drink a couple beers before I play live for bigger stakes. Small stakes dont get me as excited so I dont care as much. I thinking getting a buzz while playing makes me a better player. If I get all out drunk I suck but in between is where I am the best. I am less afraid to go with my instincts, less excited about bigger hands and usually act the same whether I am bluffing or have a monster. People have been talking about being numb to the cards. usually about 6-7 beers will do this for me. Maybe I need AA or GA. Then again I dont really give a shit cause I enjoy myslelf during both of those things

[vanilla icely 0]

I don't get to play much live, but i just spent couple of weeks playing poker full time in Vegas. Before leaving, i decide to read Caros book of tells. The one tell from the book that i found most reliable is the shaking hand. Not one single time did a player bet with a shaking hand and not have a very good hand.

Ill remember that next time Im playin Muhammed Ali...

[blakheart 3]

I just left the palms nl room and there was a guy there who gave the classic big speech tell. He played almost exclusively pocket pairs and waited to catch a set. The first time he caught a set he had 5s. The Board came something like Q 9 5 rainbow. after the other guy bet- He went into this big speach about how he didn't believe the guy had AQ, he claimed to have kq and finally pushed all in. His opponet called with AQ, went broke, and left the game. About an hour later he tried it on someone else, who promptly folded. Eventually, someone beat him set over set for all his money. But it became obvious what he had way before that. Once he started talking it was easy to muck any hand that wasn't the nuts becuase he probably had it.By the way- a different guy always splashed his chips in when he had a hand and carefully slid them in when he was bluffing. And this guy plays there a lot and is actually a pretty good player. Real interesting looking for tells and realizing how easy they were to spot. Of course- I am probably an open book, I just don't know how.

[koolromeo 0]

This is a tell that I picked up in tournament play that has seemed to be pretty consistant.Your chip are divided this way. $25.00, $100.00 and $500.00 chips.What I have notice a is person bets in early position $200.00 using 2 $100.00 chips. Another guy calls using the same 2 $100.00 chips. A third person calls using 8 $25.00 chips.What I have found more times then not the person betting the lower denomination chips usally have the weakest hand.I am not sure if they do this because they think "I just get rid of the lower chips if I don't make the flop, turn or river."Another, tell that I have noticed is if a person fans his chips they usally have a very strong hand and it is usally best to get out of his way.By the way if you are trying to get a call Spread your chip(fanning) chips this is great advertizing and will more then often get a call. I would say that this is a presentation that creates the betting impluse in someone.Maxima

[koolromeo 0]

This is a tell that I picked up in tournament play that has seemed to be pretty consistant.Your chip are divided this way. $25.00, $100.00 and $500.00 chips.What I have notice a is person bets in early position $200.00 using 2 $100.00 chips. Another guy calls using the same 2 $100.00 chips. A third person calls using 8 $25.00 chips.What I have found more times then not the person betting the lower denomination chips usally have the weakest hand.I am not sure if they do this because they think "I just get rid of the lower chips if I don't make the flop, turn or river."Another, tell that I have noticed is if a person fans his chips they usally have a very strong hand and it is usally best to get out of his way.By the way if you are trying to get a call Spread your chip(fanning) chips this is great advertizing and will more then often get a call. I would say that this is a presentation that creates the betting impluse in someone.Maxima

i have noticed that when someone bets an amount like $35, that the green chip is ususally only used if the bettor thinks he will win the pot. people, myself cinluded on rare occasion, just don't put the big chips in unlees they are confident.

[711Buddha 0]

myth. Good players do both. Both are important.

[navybuttons 15]

this one comes from howard lederer's dvd but it works. say you raised before the flop with KK and it comes down 2-7-9. you lead and a guy thinks before calling. this probably means he's thinking if his pair is good. if he calls immediately he's probably on a draw and not caring if you have trips or anything because he knows he's gonna call and try and hit his draw.i've done really well at live casinos checking top pair when i put someone on a draw this way and it looks like it might have hit or betting knowing he's gonna call with only a pair.

[timwakefield 68]

Shaking hands might not be a good tell. My hands shake no matter what I got when I play, unless I have a couple of beers. Sad I know!

Not that sad to me because I am often the same way. Maybe I have a gambling or drinking problem I guess but I still get excited everytime I sit down at a table and shake for a while until I get a couple in me. Instead of controlling this I just make sure I drink a couple beers before I play live for bigger stakes. Small stakes dont get me as excited so I dont care as much. I thinking getting a buzz while playing makes me a better player. If I get all out drunk I suck but in between is where I am the best. I am less afraid to go with my instincts, less excited about bigger hands and usually act the same whether I am bluffing or have a monster. People have been talking about being numb to the cards. usually about 6-7 beers will do this for me. Maybe I need AA or GA. Then again I dont really give a censored cause I enjoy myslelf during both of those things

A lot of people's hands shake (and sometimes you can see their pulse pumping hard in their neck or forehead) when they have a huge hand. I read in some book (maybe Mike Caro's) that this is usually uncontrollable even when you know you're doing it...it's the body's natural reaction to a heads-on confrontation. When you're bluffing, you know that you will fold if you get raised, so you're not nervous about a confrontation.Some people, I'm sure, shake when they bluff too though, and professionals probably never shake at all.