Top Real Life Poker TellsMany people believe that playing
live poker is the only way to play because there are many good tells
you can use to gain an edge over the opposition. However, players
shouldn't make decisions solely based on tells. Instead, they should
think of each hand as a puzzle with tells being a small piece. You
want to add up different pieces of information to complete the
puzzle. The problem with tells is that most people rely almost
exclusively on them and end up making the wrong decisions because
they fail to incorporate other vital information into their game,
such as how an opponent is betting, what type of player they are,
what their current mood is, and how they've played in the past.
Let's talk about the following tells and how you can use them to
exploit the players at your table. - Chip Loading
-
Betting Patterns
- Looking Away
- Staring At You
-
Tentative vs. Laid Back Posture
Chip LoadingOf all the tells, chip loading is
probably my favorite. Chip loading is when a player glances down at
his chip stack immediately after getting his cards. The reason he
does this is because he has a good hand and is already planning on
betting, and wants to figure out how much he needs to bet to extract
maximum value from his hand. You will catch a player doing this from
time to time, just pick out one or two to look at after a hand is
dealt. After a chip load a player will almost always raise the
pot, which gives you a great idea of their holdings. From there you
just have to figure out what kind of hands they like to play and
narrow down his card possibilities. Also look at your opponent on
the flop. If he seems to have hit a draw, watch him as the dealer
turns the card for the turn or river. He might immediately look down
at his chips as the card is turned, as if to bet. When he does this
you can safely fold your hand.
Betting PatternsBetting patterns are pretty
self-explanatory: just watch how your opponents bet, the speed of
their bets, and how much they bet. You will notice that a lot of
players raise their starting hands differently. If you can pick up
on this you'll own them. When they showdown a hand they had raised
pre-flop, always try and remember how much they raised on it.
Looking Away When a player looks away during a big
hand, he is afraid to intimidate you. These are the players to fear
the most. They want to show you that they are weak and uninterested
in the hand. Always be careful when a player refuses to look at you
or acts timid during a hand.
Staring At YouWhen a player stares directly at you
it is usually a bluff and he's trying to intimidate you into
folding. Don't fall for this. If you have a decent hand you might
want to give it a call.
PosturePosture is a great tell. I've noticed that
the majority of my friends sit back in their chairs when they don't
have hands. When they get a hand they'll immediately sit up in their
chair or tap their feet or fingers. This is because they have a hand
they're interested in. If they're leaning back with their arms
crossed they probably don't care about the current hand. If you see
them quickly sit up or start moving around, you may want to get out
of the pot. | 
