Favorite Poker Tells
Last post, I picked up some tells that saved me from making a bad decision.
There are two tells I really like:
One is when a player leans in toward the table (a offensive and strong position showing he is comfortable with what is happening and get closer to the center of the table showing comfort) or leans back (showing he is not comfortable with what is happening at the table and gets in a more defensive and withdrawn position).
Another that people miss is the shaking leg. I had a friend who I regularly played (and struggled) against but I picked this one up on him. He starting getting happy feet and bouncing his leg when he was strong and once I cracked that code, I was able to save a lot of money. It's not a hard one to see if you're paying attention. It's a very common tell so keep an eye out for it.
I'm very much into making those reads so I'd love to hear any other great tells you might like to use.
You know one people forget about? Eating. If someone is eating and then suddenly stops to really concentrate on a hand, it usually indicates strength. Part of the reason I never eat at the table or at least once cards are dealt.
Going along with the leg, the hand shaking also equals strength. A lot of people think that means someone is nervous and doesn't want called but it's usually the opposite.
I love the insta-raiser. Guys that insta-raise/call are strong. There was a reason Chris Ferguson did the same routine every time. Guy was impossible to get a physical read from.
Betting patterns are important. Players that vary bet sizes are very help to a player who knows what he's doing. Of course, the overbet doesn't necessarily mean what it used to anymore so watch out on that. The min bet usually does though - FOLD.
Great hand tell: the hands do a quick "steeple" showing a huge hand. Hand-wringing after a steeple though shows a lack of confidence.
Closing or covering the eyes is a great way to pick up someone's weak. Gotta be looking up as the cards are dealt to see this though.
Only tell I care about is when the dealer tells me the chips are coming my way!!!!
One big thing you have to do before assuming anything is to establish a baseline on the players at the table. For example, if you're playing someone whose hands are shaking all the time you can't use that tell. Don't assume until you've watched for a little while.
Breathing hard, sitting too still when they are normally more relaxed, and swallowing
This is gonna sound really bad but I read in a book that some guys actually stare at a woman's chest for a while to try to mentally throw them off and get info. That's pretty bad.
The legs/feet are a great tell. And you can see them even if they're not visible. Watch for movements in someone's shirt and it'll tell you if their legs are moving or not.
Chip stacks are a good one. Neat stack = nit. Messed up stack = messed up dude.