Poker Tells
Poker "tells" are behavior, habits, or physical reactions, that players give out to other players, that can indicate information about their hand and position in the game. The following are tips for beginning players to learn about some of these poker "tells":
a) Watch the Eyes
"Eyes never lie". This is true. That is why a lot of professional poker players wear caps, visors, or sunglasses, while they play poker - just to hide their eyes from their opponents. Example: players often but stare at the pot if they have a strong hand, or one player may actually ask another to see if they'll get eye contact, knowing that not looking straight in the eyes may display dishonesty.
b) Facial Expression
Some professional poker players try to hide or disguise their face by wearing a cap, or by merely looking downward most of the time. This is to hide their face from their opponents. This is again to avoid being stared at; poker player often study their opponents faces by staring or by looking repetitively to get any sign of weakness or confidence.
c) Weak is Strong while Strong is Weak
This usually applies to both beginning and professional poker players. Normally, players behave like actors in movies; if they have a monster hand they will tend to act like they are not interested, bluffing at the same time. Some players tend to act strong, but the truth is they are just bluffing.
d) Anxiety
This anxiety normally happen when players are confronted by other players. Psychologists call this occurrence "Flight of Fight"; this is a stimulus response of a person facing confrontation. Physical changes materialize when anxiety attacks, like eye pupil dilation, flexing of muscles, dry throat, and palpitating heart rate.
You will also notice that a player with a monster hand might have their chest expanding abnormally, or their voice becomes somewhat higher than normal.
e) Trembling Hands
The trembling of hands is a sign of anxiety. Beware of players that are trembling, it is a sign of a monster hand in many cases.
f) Glance at Chips
Glancing at the chips is related to eye movement. Their subconscious is reacting - it means that they are planning to attack on their next move.
g) Peeking Hole Cards on Flop
Players usually do this to connect one of their cards to the hole cards. This may mean that two cards are different.
h) Repetitive Betting Patterns
This poker "tell" is the most revealing of all "tells", since the player will have a habitual betting pattern during a given situation.
i) Body Posture / Attitude
Many players change their position of posture based on the strength of their hands. Those who slump down may show weakness, and those who sit erect may have a strong hand. But leaning forward while bluffing may show a different sign, remember, Strong is Weak!
j) Chip Stacking
Before the game begins, notice how your opponents stack their chips. Those who stack their chips unorganized mean that the player is a loose aggressive kind of player. While those who neatly stack their chips mean that player is a tight conservative kind of player.
The thing one needs to do is to determine if their opponent is experienced enough to try to send out false body language, or is inexperienced and what you see is what you get.
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