What are some tells to look for? |
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Posted Wed May 19, 2004 7:10 pm GMT by WalkingSticks
Thus far, I haven't really known what to look for, and I wondered if you could give me some advice on tells.
Thanks,
Dave
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Posted Wed May 19, 2004 7:19 pm GMT by MasterShake
One I use a lot is to watch for a player who looks down at his chips right after the flop comes. Usually he's hit something. If he checks his card, he could very well be on a draw or hit a straight or flush.
Posted Wed May 19, 2004 10:20 pm GMT by cayouche
I watch for betting patterns.
Fictious exemple. In an ordinary home tournament, 10 players, 800 chips each. There's that guy that everyone knows he's aggressive, he raises 50-75% of the time. Depending on the sizes of the bets/raises, you can determine if he has something or not. Exemple: if he bets 30, he has nothing, 50, he has decent cards. If you raise him when he bets 30, he will fold, most of the times. If you call his 50 and on the next betting round he bets another 50, he's on a draw or has low pairs that can be beaten. If instead of 50, he bets 75 or 100, he has a good/great hand. Sometimes he might not bet to set you a trap. This is only an exemple, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. Not every player play the same.
A good player will alter their betting patterns, for the others if you can crack their patterns, could make you some money and even piss them off sometimes... 
Posted Thu May 20, 2004 12:15 pm GMT by Always_Bored
| meatwad wrote: | | If he checks his card, he could very well be on a draw or hit a straight or flush. |
on a 3 heart flop.
Usually people remember when thay have 2 hearts in there hand so they wont look when 3 hearts flop. If they check there cards there either bluffing you by trying to look like an amateur or they are checking there high card to see if is a heart for the draw. Or if a straight is out they are checking to see if they hit it or are close.
Posted Thu May 20, 2004 2:19 pm GMT by Lizard
Anyone ever seen anything other than people looking at there cards. I only play in casinos and I am sure it is a very small amount compared to many of you here but I never seem to see what others talk about seeing.
I have called with nothing before because I had an Ace and I figured he had smaller then that. That was just a feeling though.
Posted Wed May 26, 2004 7:16 pm GMT by Jauron
| Always_Bored wrote: | | meatwad wrote: | | If he checks his card, he could very well be on a draw or hit a straight or flush. |
on a 3 heart flop.
Usually people remember when thay have 2 hearts in there hand so they wont look when 3 hearts flop. If they check there cards there either bluffing you by trying to look like an amateur or they are checking there high card to see if is a heart for the draw. Or if a straight is out they are checking to see if they hit it or are close. |
If I flop a flush I'm more likely to look at my hand just for that reason, just so they think I'm on a draw. I'll usually check it and then just call. Whatever card comes off next I'll usually bet it out and hope to get reraised, then just call again. Now whatever card comes off I'm going to bet one last time (and hope the board doesn't have 4 to the suite) and the guy is going to pay me off, if he raises me I'll go all in and it just looks wrong. He's gotta think I'm bluffing now.....
Of course if that works, next time I'll not look at my cards and lead out, if he raises me here we go again.
But hell I've flopped the nut straight and had the guy bet into me so hard that all I ever do it call, by the end he's got all his money in the pot and all I've done it call him because he never gave me the chance to bet.
Posted Tue Jun 01, 2004 7:56 am GMT by JimTheBullet
I've noticed something amongst a lot of people I play with. When a player makes a stiff bet, raise or call they will usually have options of which chips to use to make the bet. For example to stick in 500 chips a player may use 1 x 500 or maybe 5 x 100 or even 20 x 25 or a mixture of chips. I have noticed that many people bluff using the smaller denominations and make genuine plays with the larger chips.
I think this is because people prefer to have a small number of large value chips than a large number of small value chips (easier to count and stack, maybe?). When a player is confident that he will win the pot he will put in his 500 chips because he is confident that he will get them back. When he is bluffing, or is unsure that he will win the hand, the smaller chips are used because subconciously he doesn't mind losing them so much.
Watch out though, whether of dubious value or not, this tell will definitely not work in an online game.....
Posted Wed Jun 02, 2004 3:40 am GMT by snoogins47
One thing to definitely be careful off, when you start watching these tendencies...
think of the line in Memento, I can't recall it exactly, but the main character was a former insurance claims investigator. He says something like
"Somebody might put his hand over his mouth when telling his story. Many experts will say that means he's lying. It REALLY means that he's nervous."
Due to drastic differences in personality, the exact same action, or demeanor, might mean two completely different things for different people.
Like, one person may be nervous as hell when he is bluffing, afraid you might call him on it.
I know a guy who is backwards. He's only nervous when he has the cards, because he's deathly afraid of not getting a caller or two.
In my mind, tells of demeanor, like in Caro, the strong, weak, etc. sort of things are very useful, but you have to always think one thing...
"Why."
It's not "He threw his chips in with extra force, he's bluffing.."
It's "He threw his chips in with extra force... why did he do that? Usually the idea is that he wants to intimidate people... why is that? Does he have a mediocre hand that he doesn't want to draw out? Is it a complete bluff? Is he just doing it because he's confident with this bet, and not afraid of folding? Is he doing it because he knows that anybody who's read Caro's book might instantly call/raise him?"
In my mind, that is the key to reading people. Knowing them well enough not only to say "they do this when they have X, typically," but well enough to get in their head and figure out their thought processes, or the possible processes that might be going through their head.
The same of course applies to betting size tendencies, and every other action any player makes at the table.
Things to look out for, that while they have no cut and dried results, often can tip you off to SOMETHING...
Nervous tics. Not in the sense that say, somebody's left nostril flares when he has the nuts, but... well, for instance, I play fairly regularly with a guy who seems a bit on the ADD side. He is constantly bouncing his leg up and down... until he has a hand. Then he's rock solid.
The way people talk. Often, bluffs are more forcefully said than when they're trying to sell their hand. Not always, mind you, and sometimes it's the opposite, but this is another one to look for and take note of.
Checking hole-cards, or staring at a flop... These are something to look for as well, just as is how a player holds his hole cards... often players will be so discreet and go out of their way to protect a strong hand.
Cigarette smoking. Yes, another from Caro, and far from infallible, but if they are more subtle with it, they tend to be nervous. Why could that be? I love this one, just because it was the source of a large pot for me against one person I used to regularly play against.
This guy was an actor, through and through. I knew that I could get a read on him normally, but I knew I could easily send him into acting mode, by 'acting' like I was reading him, and getting into his head.
I pondered a call of his all-in on the river, for a while, thinking out loud, staring at him, firing off questions, and I was pretty sure I would call anyway, as I was fairly certain he was bluffing, and even if he wasn't, i had a moderately strong hand to a large pot.
Anyway, as he was firing up his cig, I said "ya know, you shouldn't do that, the way you smoke a cigarette can tip off a player to the strength of your hand.."
He takes a huge drag, and blows it basically in my face while he's staring at me, and as soon as he does, I say call, throw my chips in, and flip my cards.
All of a sudden, he's completely weirded out, doesn't know what happened, and from then on was so conscious of trying NOT to tip off his hand that his good ol' "strong = weak, weak = strong" stereotype was so pronounced that my damned grandma probably would've picked up on it.
My final thought: I think the most profit I've made from 'tells' is giving off false ones.
Again, Mr. MJC mentions this, and it's something I do with great success fairly often.
Many mediocre players will think they can read people, and try very hard to do so (I think all of a sudden this became common practice after the movie Rounders came out)
So, if you make a big bet, give them a reason to call. Play with your chips, start bouncing your leg, do things that have nothing to do with your true personality, but give them a reason that they, in their minds, even subconsciously, might consider a reason to call you.
Ahh, here's my real final thought. If you run into somebody who has their eyes fixated on you and everybody else's eyes while the cards come... it can often be profitable to just switch into the opposite of Caro's mode, that is, act strong when you're strong, and weak when you're weak.
Many people will fall for it once or twice, but don't EVER fall into the trap where you become predictable.
Posted Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:03 pm GMT by skel
People who constantly look at their cards are most likely looking for something.
Posted Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:15 pm GMT by tdoubov
I don't know about you fellas, but with the guys I play with I can take all of the money by just the sharp breath theory. For instance:
1. If a guy has a good hand, he'll let out a shapr breath however short it may be. Then throws in the chips. Normally I fold against this kinda thing, but don't count on this too much because every player is different.
2. If the guy takes a sharp breath, throws in the chips and then stares you down I usually pick it up as an attempt to throw me off. I may fold against this as well, but not if I have a moderately strong hand.
One itp to remember: Don't concentrate on this too much. If the guy keeps reraising and you haven't got anything but are calling on the instinct of a bluff on his part you may lose your chips. Be smart about betting, this is just a little tip.
- Ted V. Doubov
Posted Sat Jun 26, 2004 3:50 pm GMT by als24
The most common tell against people who somewhat-know what they are doing is if they announce their bet along with tossing in the chips. This generally means strong whereas just throwing in the chips without saying anything means weak. At least with the people I play with, most of them have this tell and I even catch myself on it every once in awhile on a bluff.
Posted Sun Jun 27, 2004 10:45 am GMT by JohnnyCache
I find the "looks away when he has a hand" tell is pretty effective in home games - someone with a hand will avoid eye contact so they give nothing away. . . it's not real common, but almost no one does it conciously as acting, so if you spot it, it's not usually an act.
Posted Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:14 pm GMT by Ventrick
Haven't really noticed this myself, but apparently some of the Pro's will look at the pulse in your neck and watch how it speeds up and slows down when you are bluffing or playing the nuts, and then use that to their advantage in future hands. Would take some keen eyesight I think to watch someones pulse in their neck though.
Posted Tue Jul 13, 2004 12:16 pm GMT by mattsweet
even easier buy mike caros book on poker tells... half of the comments in this thread are right out of it...
Posted Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:59 am GMT by cayouche
What about when they go all-in??
True, you can spot all the other tells, but I think there's another one, someone could spot.
You see regularly on TV, when someone goes all-in, the soon-to-be-caller (or not) asks how much they have left. One time, I heard the commentators say "I don't know why they do that, they know exactly how much they have left". Exactly!! IMO, they want to see how sure the all-in guy is with their betting.
So, there's two kind of all-in'ers. Those who will say "I raise 450, I'm all in" or "I'm all in, so that's 450 more", and those who will just say "I'm all in".
Does this mean anything to you?? Can you say that the guy who says instantly the number of chips he's going all-in with is pretty sure of themselves, or the opoosite, they do that when they're bluffing?? I always thought there was a correlation there... what you guys think??
Posted Fri Aug 13, 2004 4:23 pm GMT by Underbelly
How about betting patterns. For example, a guy I know (sorry I've posted this story before) Bets with a semi good size bet if he has good cards. If he is bluffing, he bets real big. If he goes all-in he's got the nuts.
The funny part, this is always the truth about this guy and I think he's the only who doesn't know it.
Posted Sat Aug 14, 2004 10:57 pm GMT by yankees2112
one of my favorite tells is also that most players remember if they have suited cards in there hand or something like queen jack, or ace king and in a hand like Ace,3 (if its shortahnded or playing on tilt) they will remeber the ace but probably not hte 3. So when the flop comes 2h6h8s they double check there hand, trying to remember there small card or seeing if they had at leats 1 heart for the flush. if the flop came out Ah10sJh and they are hodling an ace and a ten the chacnes are that they will remeber that high hand, and if they do look back at there cards its probaably because they are hcecking for a heart.
Posted Sat Dec 11, 2004 1:27 am GMT by gol4pro
I'm finding all of this very interesting given my limited live play. I play with my brother when he is home from college, but when I put a read on him, it's usually just hit betting style... I don't know what to look for in physical tells.
If you know someone well enough, do you even need physical tells?
Posted Wed Dec 15, 2004 2:25 pm GMT by sergoyaa
| Lizard wrote: | Anyone ever seen anything other than people looking at there cards. I only play in casinos and I am sure it is a very small amount compared to many of you here but I never seem to see what others talk about seeing.
I have called with nothing before because I had an Ace and I figured he had smaller then that. That was just a feeling though. |
I always try and catagorize my oponents as either an actor, a non-actor, or neither. Typically people (especially in low limit games) are either truthful about their holdings 99% of the time, or they are deceptive.
An example is an opponent that consistently acts strong when weak and weak when strong, vs someone who will tell you, "I'm gonna suck out on you with this draw" and mean it.
You'd be surprised how often people neatly fit into either an actor or honest profile. Once you figure out what type of player you're up against, then the tells become that much easier to spot.
I watched this kid all night win on a tremedous heater. Whenever he had a poor hand, he would play it, but he would ignore the action (just stare at the board). He'd call down no matter what, and often times get lucky and win. On the flip side, whenver he had a great hand, he would bet and then stare down his opponents. The Pros will tell you that when an opponent stares you down, that typically means their bluffing, but since this player was NOT an actor, I took the stare down to mean strength (which is what that manerism is meant to protray), and I saved myself a lot of money from calling this maniac with middle 2 pair, low flushes, etc.
Posted Mon Dec 20, 2004 11:14 pm GMT by BeefWang
Here's an interesting tell that my brother noticed on my friend the other day: watch what he does with his cards the first time he looks at them.
This kid would just put down his cards normally on many hands, perhaps play with them a little bit. But when he got premium pocket cards, he knew he was in the hand, and would place his cards down on front of his chips very nice and neat, one perfectly on top of the other. My brother even told him that he got a tell on him, and he tried his best to not show any tells, and still did it every time.
It was great too, because this kid would look at his hand before the bet came to him, making it a lot easier to know when to steal blinds.
So if you watch what they do with their cards in the beginning, you should find patterns. And it's a tell that most people wouldn't think about controlling; most tells people think about are things they do with their chips, the way they bet, and when the look at their cards. I don't think most people consider how they look at their cards initially.
Posted Tue Dec 21, 2004 10:35 am GMT by K-rug
| Ventrick wrote: | | Haven't really noticed this myself, but apparently some of the Pro's will look at the pulse in your neck and watch how it speeds up and slows down when you are bluffing or playing the nuts, and then use that to their advantage in future hands. Would take some keen eyesight I think to watch someones pulse in their neck though. |
I do this to a guy I play with regularly. He is kind of skinny so it is easy to see. After several months of noticing this I told him. He's a good friend of mine so I didn't want others to rape him when we went to Reno and A.C. Now when he plays he covers he puts his chin on his hand which covers his neck so you can't see.
Other things to watch for, the way the place their cards after they look at them. Do they use a card protector? Watch how they use it. Watch their eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul. I cracked the hardest player to predict in our group of 40 friends about three weeks ago. It has taken me almost a year. All I did was watch him and fold me cards every hand for about 30 minutes. I finally picked up one thing. His left eyebrow flutters a little when he has good cards. If you watch him as the cards come out for the slop you can pinpoint the card that he likes.
One guy says a certain thing before he bets which indicates that he has something good. It is usually, "it's only money" or something like that. Another guy does this sound that I can only try to describe in type as eh-eh, eh-eh. If he does that it means he wants to or is thinking about folding. My tell was the way I bet. I know I have had it for a while but I finally broke myself of it. I liked to stack my chips in nice even piles when I bet big. Another guy puts his hands on his hips and sort of reclines back in his chair. This means he has something great.
My list could go one. The one thing I found usefull was to not look at the flop. Look at the other playes. Look at your cards only when you have to and try to play a game by guessing what the other person will be doing. It has helped me out a lot.
Posted Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:22 pm GMT by QuietOne
I've never been good picking up tells but I did notice that a buddy I play with has the habit of raising with an odd number when he bluffs. He'll go grab, like a $10 chip, start to bet, pull his hand back and grab a 5 and put 15 in.
I think he starts to bet and realized 10 is not enough to bluff but he's afraid to commit too much more to a bluff , so he goes up 5.
This guys great too because he'll never let a good starting hand go. If he's just calling or raising with miminum bets, he usually has an AJ or something and even without any help on the board, He'll stay in the hand to the river.
Posted Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:10 pm GMT by BassHunter
A few tells from my friends have that may be common or not...
More than one will bet low denomonation chips when weak handed, high chips when strong.
(i.e. on a $200 call, eight $25 chips=weak; two $100 chips-strong)
One bets the flop 3x BB with high pair like clockwork.
One only raises preflop with pairs, never non-pair but strong hands. So if he calls, you usually don't need to worry he might be sandbagging trips.
Finally, one will call a split second after the bet comes to him and with condifence with a weak hand. Classic strong=weak.
Tells I have (that I've been told about)
When I check, if I have a weak hand, I play with my chips as if to bet then check. If I don't play with them, then I have a good hand.
Also, I was told that when an opening bet is made and I plan on calling it, I tend to start stacking my chips right away before my turn. After I was told this, I realized it was true and that I do it in an attempt to intimidate the people next in line for betting so they won't raise. Why? Beause I'm on the draw.
(I've ceased both habits in light of this info) 
Posted Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:02 pm GMT by Dakijeza
I have a classic weak=strong friend, strong=weak friend. If he looks away from the table whatsoever, he's got something good. If he sits leaning forward at all, he's bluffing. I don't think he realizes it, but he's the easiest player to read. I know he thinks he's pretty good, too.
Posted Fri Feb 04, 2005 7:53 pm GMT by pat1971
In reading all these it has gotten me to wondering how many I have.
I have only been playing for about 6 months and I enjoy playing the home games and I plan to use these tips against the guys I play against.
With most of them its a Saturday night of drinking a lot of beer and trying to take friends money.
With me and the friend I go there with its about improving and taking the drunken friends money.
I play against more people as well but I look forward to using these tips and hoping to stay in the positive with winnings.
UB-pat1971
Posted Fri Feb 18, 2005 7:56 am GMT by KINGJACK
The 4 i can use the most effectively are those...
1-Someone who looks at his chips really quickly (i mean really quickly) after seeing his hole cards, flop, turn or river will bet, call or raise. Almost always true... dosent mean he have a monster... he planed to put chips on the table.
2-Someone who make a big bet and look away from the action or stay really quiet normaly wants a call... always true...
if he looks at you when you evaluate the situation, he is more likely to be bluffing. not always...
3-The hand in front of the mouth usualy means a bluff. pretty good, but beware, could be acting. I act it against experiment players who dont know me. : ) Works only one time, but it pays out big.
4-Someones who's does something else than play poker, (talk about yesterday's game, stack is chips after a big pot won, eat, etc.) and stop to play a hand. Beware... he really have something big, even for a pretty loose player.
normaly poeple will continue to play and do the other things at the same time for a medium strengh hand.
If you notice he have problems to follow the conversaion he previously had... it's a monster too.
Dosent mean they cant have a monster if they continue what they where doing...
Of course an other one here that works only with weak players. trembling bet, nervousness, etc. dosent mean bluff, it means monster.
These wont help you much to win chips, but it will saves you a lot.
About the same.
Posted Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:21 am GMT by KINGJACK
Just red it on the above and its true... pople sometimes looks at their cards if a 3 rd suited card hit the board on the turn and when the flop is suited.
It means that they have at least a card of the same color (not necesserly the same suit) and that their hole cards are offsuit. They dont have the flush, thats sure.
But thats not my point. Everybody is doing it and I was doing it aswell. To prevent me of giving that tell, i simply watch my hole card every time 3 suited card are on the bord even if i know the exact suit of my cards.
This makes 2 things...
1st poeple think you dont have it even when you have it... and they try to protect their hand... than Boom!!!
2nd when you have caught them one time, the second time you do it they think you act. So, you can buy the pot!!!! Boom!!!! again!
You can do it several times before they notice you look at your cards every time!!
Is'nt that easy? 
Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 9:52 am GMT by Abused Rib
I've gotten into the habit of re-looking at my cards even if I know exactly what I have. It prevents forgetting, giving off tells, and may convey weakness in your hand (may be good or bad).
Posted Sun Feb 20, 2005 4:53 pm GMT by Hold'em 07
Someone in another thread posted alink to MIke Caro's tells(video version). His videos are easier to understand then his book. All of these tells that he told me about worked like a charm in my home game yesterday except for the one where fish suck out on you with J4offsuit. But heres the point, he gave one tell and here it is:
When your in a hand and your opponent has bet into you, wait a moment or two, stare him down and then ask him a question about sports or politics, and if your opponent carries on the convo with a long response you can guarantee that he has a premium hand.If he doesnt answer your question then you can either call or raise. I used this yesterday, asked my friend about a girl in school that he thought was hot, and he just went on and on about her. I folded AJ suited in the big blind and he flips over KK. LOL MIke Caro rules.
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