Poker Tells

Written by Nigel

You have probably heard this phrase so many times before.  A tell, in poker, is any habit or behavior – either physical or verbal – of a poker player at the table that gives away information regarding his cards.  Whether you are playing with a beginner or an advanced player, you just might catch a tell or two which can help you play better against that player.  Of course, tells are not sure fire indications. Sometimes, pros even make up tells to confuse their opponents.  Each and ever person is different and there is no one tell that matches everyone.  The idea is to be very observant and see if a person exhibits certain behaviors in certain situations.

One thing you should always pay attention to are the eyes.  The eyes are the windows to one’s soul, or so they say.  You can get a lot of information from the eyes of a poker player.  Of course, again, it is not the case for everyone but you have pretty good chances of reading someone based on his eyes.  More than the eyes, another good indication of a person’s hands is the facial expression as a whole.  Of course, a seasoned player may have perfected his “poker face” but there are always those who cannot help but give away their position with their facial expression.

There are countless other tells that may be specific to a person.  It is up to you as a “person reader” to be able to detect and interpret them.  Again, your success lies in acute observation skills.