How to Spot a Poker Tell

Posted by salim14 on October 1st, 2010

Tells are one of the most important aspects of poker. They are considered as a good way to get clues and hints about the cards that your opponents hold. A good poker player knows that the amount of money that his opponent bets on has nothing to do with his cards and that in order to evaluate his opponents situation he must spot tells.

An experienced player can obtain a lot of information from tells. Tells are actually signs that discloses valuable information in many ways and good players know how to track and use those for their own benefit. If you are able to pick up the tells then you will be able to avoid giving away your own tells, so this is an advantage against your competitor. If you know how common players mistake and reveal information by tells, you can try to concentrate on yourself while playing and to notice what kind of tells you give . And through this way you can learn that how to monitor and avoid.

There are many tells those may not be figured out by the beginners but can be identified by the experienced players. Tells are very simple. It comes so naturally that it is very difficult to read . So if you want to know how to read tell you have to play with a specific player for a long time. In the long run you will realize that you are familiar with your friend's tells and that you can read them like an open book, but if you are plying against new opponents in all sorts of poker rooms, here are some of the things that you should look for.

The first thing you have to do is to look at the eyes. If you watch professional poker tournaments you will notice that many poker players are playing with sunglasses or visors. This is because the eyes can reveal lots of information about one's cards. Take a good look at your opponents eyes; learn how he reacts in different situations and this will help you to read his tells.

You can also learn a lot from the facial expressions of your opponents. You can tell if a player is nervous or eager by observing special facial expressions, such as you can look for specific smiles or concerns that come with good or bad hands. Some body gestures such as signs of stress, anxiety should be observed carefully because they can reveal the hint of a specific hand.

Another thing is that you have to look for the way by the players stack their chips. If you notice a different pattern of stacking it might indicate that the player is under pressure or eager to make his move and win the hand. There are many tells that can indicate different reactions related to different situations at the poker table, but you must remember that you should not depend only on tells and you should use other poker strategy if you want to be a better player. Tells can provide valuable information, but skilled players know that this is not enough for the game.