tells

What's the best way to build your "tells" skills?

Is there any way to break these things down? How do the tells work of people like the pros?

Thanks!

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That's Poker

lol. Nice post Keiser. Yeah OP if you're interested in tells just buy a book and read about it.

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G.T.S
***...KidJoker666...***

I can't get those dang books to open. I think they're broken.

I will let you all in on a secret tell that all poker players make...when they toss their pocket cards into the center of the table...it means they don't have much.

You have to be careful with live tells...it is important that you have played with this player on a number of occasions or at least for a very long time otherwise you could be picking up intentional false tells or just presuming something is a tell when it isn't. Say I thumb my cards when I'm thinking...it doesn't make any difference if I'm thinking how I want to bet my monsters or if I'm thinking as to whether I want to stay in the hand or if I want to bluff...now you might pick this up every time that I am weak...well that might cost you a lot of chips when I do it when I am holding monsters. On the other hand a sharp player might give out a very slight tell on purpose and hope that you pick it up, then he will use it to his advantage. So if you really don't know for sure if something is a real tell, you might just be better off to disregard them rather than have huge chips loses tell you your thoughts on the tell were wrong.

You might figure that nervousness is a sign that the player is bluffing or is weak, but in reality he might be nervous because he is imagining picking up a huge pot with his monster hand...same thing with neck veins twitching and all. They say a player that looks away from the table doesn't want a call...well the player might look away from the table because he does not want to show the joy of his big anticipated takedown.

They say in poker always view it as the opposite if he acts like he wants a call then figure that he really doesn't want a call. In the 2006 WSOP Jamie Gold told the truth...he said he had a bad hand, when in reality he had a bad hand, when he had a good hand he told the players not to call his hand was good...did they believe this...no they always did the opposite and Jamie Gold got a bracelet for telling the truth.

when a player shows his bluff on a big take down players will assume that the next time he will really have them, he set us up and wants us to think he is bluffing where he really has them this time...this does nothing but set up a good bluff for the next time....I say bluff again the second time, then show them the cards again and maybe even the third time...then go straight. You have just taken down 3 big pots with bluffs and then you will take down the 4th and 5th big pots when they call you, plus now you have really destroyed their minds. You might have to wait a long time for a good hand, but there are always good hands to bluff with.

Be careful with live tells and don't bet the farm on them!

Although I disagree with you Crapshoot regarding the importance of live tells you do make a good point. False tells can come in handy but how can you make a false tell without understanding tells? On the other side of the coin, how do you know if you opponent is making a false tell without understanding tells? Also, how do you know if you opponent that you're making a false tell to understands tells? Well, tells of course.

Poker is more than simply playing your cards. If it were then we'd all know the odds and win every time right?

Here's an example from last night where I used a false tell to make money.

First, I'm familiar with this particular player and know he understands tells so I used it against him.

1/2 game and I'm dealt KK UTG. I raise to $16 BB calls.

Flop = AK7 rainbow

Now a lot of people would check the monster and hope BB bets the turn. Instead I threw my chips ($30) in the pot the second he checked. (strong when weak). He thought then called.

Turn = blank

Check, BAM! I slam down $50 almost like I was trying to scare him out of the pot. He thought then called.

River = blank

Check, BAM! ($75) I had already sized up his stack and had the rest of it in my hand so I almost beat his check into the pot.

He called with his AJ just knowing I was trying to bluff him out of the pot.

My point is, I knew the strong when weak tell and I knew he knew by watching his tells. Without knowing and understanding tells that was a $30 pot. Instead it was a $230 pot. Give or take whatever I tipped the dealer...

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Those aren't really tells Dinero, you can argue that they are and they really are tells, but when discussing tells most poker players are referring to body language, movements of habits, things that they do, eyes twitching, nostrils flaring. It might be movements of habit in particular situations like stacking their chips in a certain way, looking away from their opponent...things like that...not so much betting patterns and how they bet them...those are definitely tells, but those are obvious tells of playing style as opposed to slight tells of body language or movements. It is said that we are creatures of habit, so under the same conditions we will react physically in a peculiar way.

Yes I did touch on style tells as well in my post, but I just wanted to clarify the distinction.

This is a partial exert from a Daniel Negreanu article on tells:

Don't be paranoid of or obsessed with tells. That's not where your focus should lie. I remember a few years ago something that I thought was rather cute. There were a few aspiring pros in a $10-$20 game at the Mirage one night. They looked fresh and ready to play. For several hours I watched them. Their eyes were constantly fixated on the player who was next to act. They gave each and every player the stare-down - on every street, whether they were in the hand or not! I thought it was quite funny, actually. They were so obsessed with trying to figure out what people's tells were that they completely neglected what was actually going on in the hands - who bet, who raised, and so on. Instead of watching the action of the game and studying betting patterns, they spent all of their time trying to figure out if Grandma Betty actually had a nervous twitch, and whether or not her twitch revealed something about her holecards! They clearly had a lot of passion and energy for the game, but they were wasting all of that energy exercising the wrong muscles.

Having said all this, I should probably point out that what you say, or what you do with your eyes and hands, can be giveaways to the strength of your holding. Great players watch almost everything, and many do have an innate ability to read body language. You don't ever want to dismiss tells from your poker repertoire, but you just might be better off putting less emphasis on their importance.

I have a simple rule when I'm being stared down: The tougher my opponent, the less I'll do. If I believe I'm up against an average or weak player, I may send out some false tells and basically try to manipulate his decision in my favor. I may even make a comment, it just depends on what I think I need to do to manipulate his mind. A great player can usually read through that act, though, so you don't want to give him anything. If you give him nothing and he still tells you he can "see through your soul," don't sweat it; I assure you it's just another scare tactic.