Tells

I've been playing mostly live games lately and been doing fairly well. I think that the difference is the additional information involved with reads and tells.

I've been spending a lot of time watching other players and watching betting patterns. The patterns experience comes from playing a lot of hands online so that helps to tie in with physical tells.

If you haven't read, "Caro's Book of Poker Tells" get it. It's a must read if you play live. It's gotten me out of several jams. Gotten me in trouble too but most of the time I'll be closer to my read than I would have been otherwise.

Here's a few tells that I've noticed and have helped me win more money. Some more obvious than others. Please comment and add any that you've experienced so we can help each other catch them and hide our own.

1. "Happy Feet" - This is one of my favorites. Everybody's thinking about their face and eyes (thus sunglasses) but nobody thinks about their feet because they're under the table, right? When people get nervous/excited often their legs start to bounce. You may not be able to see their feet but you can see their shirt move or whatever. Watch out for people who bounce their feet all night though. The good thing about this one is I have yet to notice this tell when someone is bluffing or has a marginal hand.

2. "excited eyes" - If you ever saw the Full Tilt commercial where Jennifer Tilly or whoever it was is watching a guy's eyes when the flop hits and his eyes sort of open and the eyebrows lift which meant he hit his card, I saw this in person last night. Obviously sunglasses would have helped here but rule number one when playing live is, "watch the people in the hand when the flop comes". You'll have plenty of time to see the flop when the action gets to you if you don't hear the dealer announce the cards anyway. This one was cool because he had raised preflop and I called with 44. I knew if I hit a 4 and he hit the flop I'd get paid. I knew if he didn't hit the flop that I was probably ahead. Flop came K74 rainbow. His eyes lit up so it was easy to put him on a K. Had he not hit I might have slow played and let him catch up but instead I bet and he pushed all-in. I hesitated because I knew he had a good hand that could mean KK or 77. The second he said he had a set of Kings (another tell) I called. He turned over AK and I won the pot. There's only one reason he'd tell me he had KK. Because he didn't. He may know I understand that in the future so I'll need to be on my toes next time.

3. "Liar-liar" - Know how to tell when a poker player is lying? His lips are moving. If you're ever unsure on a player's hand, ask them. If they say anything you can be reasonably sure that's NOT what they have and you can cross it off your list. Any player is going to tell you what they think will get you to call/fold/bet to benefit themselves. Why would somebody try to talk you out of a hand when they have a monster? That's the classic "strong means weak and weak means strong".

That's some that I see a lot. What have you seen? Not a page directly from a book either. What's actually out there?

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What are you going to do when i stand up, call for the cocktail waitress, and put you on the clock, after i have just pushed you allin on the river. I do not think this supposed mad genuis of poker has a read on that. kidding only kidding, sure tells are a valuable poker tool.

Though I think tells are great, really good players give little away. I really pay attention to what people say, also. When I hear, "ya why not, I'll donate", there is a good hand or "sure, I'll see one more card", I'm probably facing the nuts. We have one player who sighs everytime she has a hand. Another guy postures with a hard cold poker face, but if his chest is stuck out more than usual he is bluffing on his all-in's.

I personally like to mutter to myself,"well it's about friggin' time", in a self righteous voice when seeing a flop after a long period on dead cards. That is usually good for a few folds.

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Real poker players don't cry....

The FLOP determines how good your hole cards are!!

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One of my funnier hands was in a live limit game when I reversed this one. Announced my aces from the big blind and asked advice on how to play them. Flopped top set, check raised the flop. Turned the top boat, and again check raised after telling her I had the boat. Value bet and raised the river, as she didn't believe me. Not useful unless you know them pretty well, but it was still funny as hell.

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Blackinks

Donkey Extraordinaire

"Never understimate the power of stupid people in large groups..." - Daryl "Razor" Reaugh

"I went in with the worst of it... and it held up!" - Alicia M

Fortunately I don't play with a lot of "really good players". I have yet to see somebody pull out an oreo cookie but I'm looking.

I agree with those tells. Along those lines someone will talk about it being their last hand or that they have to leave. I have yet to see somebody leave after saying it while putting their chips in...

A lot of people are aware of tells like these. The classic "weak means strong". I try to mix it up to create confusion. I'll be honest when talking about my hand one time while off on another.

One of my favorites is I'll ask to split the pot when I have a monster that probably won't get called if I bet. The general rule of thumb is that if somebody asks to split they're probably beat and you should play the hand. That play has won me some money as well as gotten me splits when I was actually behind.

Phil Gordon said in (I believe) is Little Blue Book that there are 3 levels of playing poker.

1. playing your cards (basic)
2. playing your opponents cards (intermediate)
3. playing what your opponent thinks your cards are (advanced)

I think an important element of #3 is creating confusion. Changing styles, changing tells... I had a player tell me last night that he wishes I would play in the WSOP so he could see what I was holding when I was on TV. He folded, I smiled and said, "thanks for the compliment".

If your opponent can't put you on a hand you have a huge advantage.

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The thing is though, you can only go one level above what your opponent's level of thinking is.

I occasionally play with a couple people who play poker (not poker players, as Fink would say). At best, they play their own cards. They are never trying to put me (or anyone else) on a hand. So, while I may be able to determine they only have middle pair...I can't represent strength, they're calling me down the entire way no matter what. I can't play my bottom pair like it's a set in that situation, as it will only result in me losing money.

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1st place, March/April 2008 Sunday League

Intelligence, lack thereof: Causing insanity to those with.