Learning How to Read Poker Tells
Poker players are always talking about tells. The term tells refers to signs that let other players know about what type of hand they are holding. Knowing their opponent’s tells makes it possible for a good poker player to know if they are holding a hand that can beat their opponent or if they should fold.
Some poker players have a knack for identifying tells. However others have no idea how to even begin identifying tells. The good news is that as long as you are willing to put in some hard work, you can learn how to read tells too. One of the things that will make learning how to read tells is know what types of things that you should be looking for. Most people show stress, anxiety, and pleasure in similar ways.
One of the most obvious signs that a FullTilt player is holding a really, really good hand is that they are not really paying any attention to the game. They are acting like they couldn’t care less about what the other players are doing, yet each time it is their turn to bet, they always raise. If a player is acting like this at your table you should fold and hope that you have better luck when the next hand is dealt.
When a person is holding a good hand they will usually experience a rush of adrenaline. Internally this means that their heart rate increases, which you won’t be able to see. Another sign of a sudden rush of adrenaline is that their hands will shake slightly. Don’t automatically assume that if their hand is shaking that they have a good hand; if they are getting towards the end of their chips it might mean that they are starting to get desperate and playing recklessly.
If you notice that one of your opponents glances at their hold card and then promptly glance at their chips, it is probably safe to assume that they have a pretty good hand and that they are trying to decide how much they can hope to bet without being obvious. Nothing is more amusing than watching one of your opponents try to hide the fact that they are holding a good hand. They usually try to do this by acting like the hand they are holding isn’t worth anything but at the same time keep raising.
In addition to looking for tells that a player is holding a good hand you also want to look for signs that they have a lousy hand. There are two really obvious tells that players frequently are unable to quash. The first is that they hold their breath. The more a player bluffs, the more likely they are to hold their breath. This is a tell that most experienced poker players are usually able to overcome.
Another sign that an online poker player does not have as strong a hand as they are hoping for is that they suddenly start to try to intimidate the other players at the table. The most common way that this happens is that the player with the inferior hand will start staring down their opponent. As you get better at reading people you will gradually learn to identify tells that are too subtle for you to notice when you are first starting to play poker.