Reading Opponents: Texas Holdem Poker Tells
One of the most fascinating and critical parts of poker is the extraordinary ability of great players to be able to read a player and work out what cards they hold. Everybody has poker tells and the best players know that the more attention you pay, the more information you can gain about someone. Poker tells include everything that you do at the table from moving chips, speaking and even involuntary mannerisms.
Eyes The eyes are an important part of reading a player. How an opponent sees the world can often give off small clues to their intentions. Length of staring at the holes cards can give you a clue. Some people can’t help but stare at monsters, others snap them back down immediately. A useful tell is when somebody immediately looks at their chips when the flop comes down, this means a big hand. The reverse is often also true, if someone stares at the flop for longer than normal then it is likely that they missed.
The Hole Cards Double checking the hole cards usually means a weak hand. People don’t often double check big pairs because they remember what it was the first time. Looking away and uninterested after seeing the hole cards is a dead give away for strength. Squeezing out the second hole card sometimes means the first card seen is an ace. Checking the hole cards on a flop that is all the same suited usually implies someone doesn’t have the flush.
Patterns of Betting The classic saying in poker is that weak means strong and strong means weak. Looking aggressive and forcefully shipping chips into the middle is usually weak. The opposite is also true, quietly putting chips into the pot is often strength. If an opponent looks at his hand and then bets instantly, it is seldom a bluff.
Chip Stacks Studying how the chips are put out, the amount of bet, whether it is large chips or small chips can give clues to betting tells. Loose aggressive players usually have unorganised stacks while tight conservative players keep neat stacks. Some players keep two stacks in cash games, these type of players will stack their winnings off to the side or in front so they can easily tell how much they are up on the game. If you can determine this, they will be less likely to call a bet which would put them in the red for the game, unless they have a very strong hand. If you ever notice a player winning a large pot, and perhaps may still be stacking their chips from it, they will not play the hand unless they have good cards.
Voice Any time you hear a poker player ask the dealer for clarification, it usually means they have a monster. Any questions posed like “How much is it to me?”, or “What’s the bet?” is normally indicative of a strong hand. When a player is rude to you right after a bet, it almost always means that they have a strong hand and are intuitively trying to annoy you into call. The opposite of the above tell, any time a person seems nice or polite to you right after a bet, they are probably bluffing.
Every player gives off tells, try to remain patient and always watch the table even when you aren’t in a hand.
Learn more about poker strategy. Stop by Bruno Chauvet’s site where you can find out all about poker deposit bonuses and poker strategies.
Filed under: poker
