Poker Tells

As long as poker has been played, players have been studying their opponents trying to figure out their “tells”. You may observe that when your opponent bluffs, they tend to whistle the theme song to the Dukes of Hazard. Sadly, this type of player rarely exists, and picking up a tell is much more difficult, and requires patience and keen observation.

What is a tell? In poker terms, a tell is an an unconscious action made by one player that can give another player some insight into the quality of their hand. So how can you get information from your opponents? What should you be looking for the next time you decide to put your mortgage on the line to call a big bet? In this case, you should be looking for an exit, because you likely have a gambling addiction. For everyone else, here’s a good starting point for reading your opponents, specifically for No Limit Texas hold’em.

To start with, poker is a game of deception. This means that if someone is playing a hand like they don’t have very much, and seem reluctant to call a bet early in the hand, they likely have a very strong hand. Conversely, if they are acting like their hand is very powerful, often slamming the chips into the pot when they bet as if to say “I dare you to call”, there’s a good chance it’s a bluff. Strength means weakness/weakness means strength.

Body language can also play a strong role in acquiring more information about your opponent. Players who like to bluff will often assume confrontational physical gestures such as crossing their arms, or aggressively leaning on the table staring at their opponent. The idea behind these unconscious actions is to portray strength. Police officers often position themselves to appear intimidating, therefore reducing the chance of actual conflict. The bluffer is doing the same thing.

More information can be gathered by watching how your opponent reacts in various situation, especially in relation to their hole cards and poker chips. For example, watch your opponents when they first look at their hole cards. Did they take longer than normal to look? Did they take a second look? Often this is a sign of a very strong hand. A hand so good, they wanted to make extra sure of what they saw. Once they finished looking at their cards, where did they look next? A player that immediately looks at their chips is often trying to size up exactly how much to bet, again, another sign of strength, but not necessarily a sign of a good hand.

Another common tell occurs after the flop. 3 spades have just shown up, and your opponent is thinking “Hmm, I know I have A-J, I think one of them was a spade” and they peek at their hole cards to see which one was a spade. If they’d had 2 spades, they would have remembered so they probably wouldn’t need to look. Now the turn card brings another spade, they peek at their hole cards again, and bet big. They’ve probably hit their flush, so unless you have a flush that might have them beat, you should probably fold.

They could also realize that this is a good time to try and steal the pot, because they know that if you don’t have a spade, you’re probably not going to call their bet. Poker is as much about playing your position and your opponents as it is about playing your cards.

Finally, you’ll eventually have to figure out what type of player you’re dealing with? Do they play a lot of different hands, or are they very conservative, sticking to strong starting hands. Do they like to bluff, or are they prone to fishing, meaning they will pay a high price to see the next card, hoping to catch an unlikely card to make a monster hand?

The more information you know about a player, the better your chances are of success. Poker is a game of skill and luck, but despite how much you know about a player, no matter how sure you are about how you’ve read them during the course of a hand, there’s always the chance you’re wrong, and even when you’re right, it can turn out wrong. That’s why I love this game.

Here are a few books with more information on the subject of poker tells.