TELLS

Tells in Texas Holdem are little hints players accidentally give off that give other players clues to the strength of their hand. This can happen both in live play and online (be sure to also read our page devoted to online tells as this one deals mainly in live play tells). Clues can found in body language, verbal comments (or the chat box in online poker) and by players’ actions. Tells usually happen when a player first looks at their hand or in response to action during the game. Beginner and average players have a hard time controlling their tells – experienced players can, and as such, they’re much harder to read and even harder to guess the strength of their hand.

HOW TO LIMIT THE TELLS YOU GIVE OFF:

1. As you improve your poker skills, you should learn how to hide your tells, and the best way to do this is to play Texas Holdem, practice, practice, practice. The more hands you play, the more opportunities you’ll have to maintain a poker face when you first see that you have a super-strong hand. Playing online is the best way to do this – you’ll play more hands per hour than in a live casino. PokerStars.com is a great site to get experience at playing a lot of hands – you need to have seen a few pocket aces in your time so you don’t start grinning from ear to ear the second you see them.

2. Memorize your cards when you look at them – don’t play with them or keep looking at them. Professional poker players rarely take a second look at their cards.

3. Don’t play with your chips, rings, straws, or anything else. Keep your fidgeting to a minimum.

4. Remain calm at all times, especially when you have a strong hand.

5. Beginner players have a tendency to behave opposite to what their hand is to hide what they’re holding. If they have a strong hand, they act as if it’s weak to trick people into staying in the game. If you’re a beginner, don’t do this because other players know you’re doing it. If you’re an experienced player, you’re probably already aware that beginners do this.

6. Don’t talk about the hand you’re playing or past hands to avoid giving away your strategy to other players.

TELLS TO WATCH FOR IN OTHER PLAYERS AND TO AVOID YOURSELF:

1. Blushing. It’s impossible for some to stop themselves from blushing when they have a strong hand. Watch peoples’ cheeks when they look at their cards, and during play to see if they’re getting flushed as they might have a great hand.

2. When you first get your cards, don’t look at them right away. Instead, watch the other players’ reactions when they look at their cards for the first time.

3. A player with a strong hand might be overly eager to bet – watch for players who grab for their chips too soon.

4. Players with strong hands are more attentive to the game. Keep your eye on players who pull their chair up to the table, extinguish their cigarettes, put their drinks down and any other action that shows they’re paying more attention to the game.

5. Be mindful of players’ vocal patterns and tones – especially if they change when a player is betting aggressively as they might have a strong hand.

6. A pulsing vein on the side of the neck is a sure sign of a rapidly beating heart in response to a strong hand. It takes lots and lots of practice to control that kind of physiological response. Again, try PokerStars.com to get experience playing more hands and to learn to control yourself when you get a monster hand.

7. Watch how a player puts their chips in the pot. If they put them in as if they don’t care, they might be trying to feign disinterest and a weak hand. If they’re aggressive, they might be trying to bluff you into thinking they have a strong hand when they don’t.

8. People who look at the flop too much might have a weak hand and are trying to see if there’s a better hand in there somewhere.

9. Players who can’t wait for the action to come to them might be holding a great, but not strong hand. People who have strong hands tend to behave more cautiously.

10. It’s a human response to lying to cover one’s mouth – a player who has just bluffed might do this.

11. A player might be bluffing if they ‘accidentally’ expose one of their cards.

12. A player who stares down other players might not have gotten the cards they wanted and are trying to intimidate the other players into folding.

13. A player might have a weak hand if they call quickly to your bet. They think their aggressive call might make you hesitate from betting into them again in the next round.

All of the non-physical tells here apply to online games as well. However, there some other tells that are unique to playing online. As already mentioned, you should read about them on our online tells page.

And if you haven’t signed up yet, we can’t say enough good things about PokerStars.com and highly recommend you try them before any other site. They’re industry leaders and make sure to offer their players the best online poker experience available.

Previous page | Next page