Reading Poker Tells
A poker tell is any physical reaction, behavior, habit or even a clue that gives hints to your opponents about your hand. These tells are also applicable to online poker but the main difference is online players have no bodies to betray their thoughts, but you can tell about the actions they commit.
This is one good reason why professional poker players can give their opponents false tell to fool them. Either you are playing in a casino or you have chosen to play with the most trusted online casino sites, you better watch closely for these tells as it would be very helpful for you to analyze your opponents.
1. Watch the Eyes - You will notice that some pros wear accessories such as sunglasses or caps/visors whenever they play, the main reason is the eyes never lie.
A good example is player who wants to steal the pot, he might take a look to his left side to check if the remaining players, who have not acted yet, have a quick glance at their cards and are likely to fold.
On the other hand, most players can't help but to stare at the card with big hole, so the length of their peeking time is longer. Another example, a player will try to ask questions about the cards of their opponent, knowing that people who are telling the false truth can't look someone straight in the eyes.
2. Anxiety - Occurs normally to a player when they anticipate confrontation or confronted. Physical changes happens including flexing of muscles, dry throat, eye pupil dilation and palpitating heart rate. Some of these characteristics can be exposed by a player with a monster hand and is ready for a confrontation.
3. Trembling Hands - This is also caused by anxiety, if a player have shaky hands this doesn't always mean they are nervous, this can also represent a big hand, so beware of your opponent with shaky hands.
4. Facial Expressions - Another good reason why most of the pros wear accessories to disguise their entire face and looking down. This is to avoid the "Poker Face" or the classic stare-down which the poker pros are famous for. Your opponent will try to study your facial expressions detecting a weak hand or maybe watching for a repetitive characteristics like a body "tic". You might have an obvious unhappiness in your face if you have a weak hand, while a confidence might show if you have a strong hand.
5. Weak is Strong/Strong is Weak - Players are like to be actors especially if they have a big hand, they will try to look disinterested, this frequently applies to pros and usually applies to most of the novice players. A player may have an increase level to his voice while raising the pot, and try to look intimidating, this might be a bluff.
6. Chip Stacking - Try to study the way how players stack their chips once you sit down to your chosen table. Tight conservative players are likely to maintain a well organized or a neatly stacked chips, while an unorganized or sloppy stack of chips might indicate a loose aggressive player.
7. Glance at Chips - Related to eyes, it is a common reaction to a player to have a quick glance at their chips once they connect with the board after the flop. This could be a subconscious reaction of a player planning an attack.
8. Body Posture - Changes in their body structure are obviously shown by some players based on the strength of their hand or their attitude. For and instance you might notice a player with dropped shoulders or slump who is not confident or holding a weak hand, while a player who is very attentive and sits erect can represent a strong hand.
