Poker is an intense battle of wits where you’re trying to always outsmart and outmaneuver your opponents around the table. Unlike many other games, bluffing and trickery are major components that make poker incredibly unique and exciting. Every hand you play, your opponents will be trying to guess what cards you have and anticipate your next move. Likewise, you’ll be trying to figure them out and base your strategy around how you expect them to act.
A tell is one of the most important things to look for when trying to read your opponent. A tell is simply a verbal or physical action that a player makes, which gives away the strength of their hand. In most cases, this will be a subconscious action, and often one that a player makes without realizing. It could be a small smile, a slight touch of the face, or a quick grimace. Even the most stone-faced pros have a tell, and knowing how to read them is a key to winning the mental battle.
In online poker, tells are far less important, and as a new player, you should be more focused on strategy. However, tells do still exist, just in a slightly different way. Tells can be seen in the decision a player makes in certain situations. If you want to get good at live poker, you’ll have to not only be good at reading tells but also at covering your own. Here are some tips on identifying common poker tells.
Eye Contact
Eye contact can tell you a lot about a person, and it’s very useful to pay attention to in poker. Whether it’s making eye contact or avoiding it, this is a common tell that can be hard for players to hide. Players with a good hand are usually more relaxed and will be more likely to make eye contact with other players. On the other hand, those who are weak or bluffing will typically feel less at ease and be less willing to meet your gaze, looking away when you make eye contact with them. Avoiding eye contact can be a common sign of a bluff, although some players are much better at forcing eye contact while bluffing.
Hesitations
Players who have a strong hand are generally more likely to hesitate before making their bet or choosing a decision. This is because they have an incentive to display weakness or uncertainty, and they don’t want to appear too strong. While it may seem like it should be the other way around, those who are bluffing or have a weak hand are more likely to make their bet quickly and without any hesitation. This is because they don’t want to come under scrutiny. The longer they take to make their decision, the more likely it is for others to examine them and notice something is wrong.
