list your best tells..

[JohnnyCache]

If someone acts quickly, it's usally a sign the last card was a blank for them - they already decided what to do, and the card didn't change their mind. People have to think about a hand that got improved, or shot to hell.

[Dat_Dude]

Ran into one guy last week that would say "Oh what the hell" as he threw chips into the pot. I became a rich man off him. And by rich I mean I won about $30 off of him.

Same situation here. A buddy in my weekly card game always shrugs and throws his hands in the air (just like saying "what the hell") then bets a decent amount. I had to pay big one time to this tell, but since have saved a lot of money on it.

Well, I then was an idiot and told him he was doing it, only to see him KEEP DOING IT!

That is what I love about Poker...most people have no clue they are giving their hand away.

[truplaya_177]

If they look at they're chips they have a big hand. This is a sub-concious tell that almost everyoone has.

[Raisor]

For the people who play in my games, one of the best is when they try to stare me down. Most times when they have something good, they just starte straight ahead. When they stare me down, they're usually bluffing, or don't have that big of a hand.

[aaronw]

If someone is talking and they seem nervous, they usually don't have a hand (in my experience anyway)

Also, I find that if after the flop comes someone immediately look at their cards, they usually have hit the flop in some way, shape, or form (ie- either pair, 2 pair, some sort of draw, etc.)

[LeafsFan1122]

If they look at they're chips they have a big hand. This is a sub-concious tell that almost everyoone has.

I know this thread has been dead for quite some time, but I'm pretty bad at finding live tells and need to get something cleared up. I was under the impression that when a player looks at his chips, then checks, that's normally a sign of weakness. If they look at their chips then bet well.....I guess you need to look at your chips if you're going to bet.

[snoogins47]

If they look at they're chips they have a big hand. This is a sub-concious tell that almost everyoone has.

I know this thread has been dead for quite some time, but I'm pretty bad at finding live tells and need to get something cleared up. I was under the impression that when a player looks at his chips, then checks, that's normally a sign of weakness. If they look at their chips then bet well.....I guess you need to look at your chips if you're going to bet.

It obviously depends on the player, situation etc... which is why I think in a thread like this, for folks that are inexperienced, there's probably a lot more long-term value from reading the first part of every tell listed, and not putting a whole lot of weight on the second one (the "what it means" part) Not that there aren't some fairly universal ones, but I just don't want somebody here donking off their whole stack seven times because the 'bluffing' tell that they read here is actually a sign of strength against a player in their homegame

Anyway, I'm just gonna toss out randomly the things that I've found as the 'most important' things to look for. I'm sure I'll miss plenty.

First and foremost has gotta be the nerves one. I hear a lot of people trying to spot the vein in the neck... I usually check out the hands myself. Shaking hands are a dead giveaway for a lot of folks.

The "double-check the hole-cards" thing is a dead giveaway too, but everybody knows that by now. But, not only checking for one of a suit, it can apply other times... like when somebody doubles checks on random low-middle blank card on the turn/river, they're usually checking to see if it paired them.. which means they think there's a good chance it might have paired them. If somebody double-triple checks their hole cards on a big bet, and make a big raise... well, they weren't usually looking back to think "do I have a bad enough hand to try bluffing?"

One of my favorites absolutely brutalizes those people who have obviously read about the game, don't know you, and think they're much better than they are. (You know, the ones that invariably say that their strength is 'reading people' and bitch about how they can't win online because it's rigged. Those sorts)

That, quite simply, is to make sure, in a sly manner, to see where they're looking when the flop comes down. If they're regularly staring at people's eyes, and not the cards... well, the next time you've got the nuts and they're in the pot, throw your entire stack in like a Costa-Rican Madman, announce "FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS," lean forward, stare at them, and don't you dare f*cking blink.

This works against people who aren't specifically the type I mentioned above... maybe they aren't always checking your eyes instead of the flop... but my story is more fun this way.


Above all though, the most important part of reading tells is the same as reading betting patterns and anything else.

Look at everything you can, that just happened. Figure out why it might have happened, based on logic, and past information. It's probably pretty easy to figure out where to go from there.

[Ryan231]

When I first started playing live poker I'd mouth the cards I had during the hand. I didn't really ever notice it until this 1 guy kept saying my hands out loud and I was like "wtf dude, how could you know I had 94o?"

I guess it came from playing online a lot, but damn I wonder how long it went on before someone told me :x

[MasterMike]

Sometimes preflop, if i have cards or want someone to fold, i will reach for chips before it is my turn just to get people to fold. Someone told me of this "tell" and i acted like i didnt know what he was talking about.

Sometimes i forget to really observe the person for a tell, so i like using betting patterns. I love this except for the fact that a lot of times they will stick with their mediocre hands (just a pair with a lot of possibilities on the board), and i cant bluff them


I got good at checking heart beats of people/ breathing, then i told someone and it screwed that up a little. Doesnt work as much now, but every once in a while.

Also, if a player leans too far forward or with elbows on the table, thats normally a sign of strenght from what ive seen (kinda harder though, because a lot of times leaning back is a sign of strength). In one game, it was so obvious after about 4 or 5 times, i just told him and he tried to deny it. Then when he did, i called his bet, and i lost... but i sure as hell proved the point!!

Also, if you ask someone their hand, and they say something quickly like Jack.. then hesitate for a split second and say ace. Normally that person has the jack.

I play with one guy that will say his hand often times or lie about it, and hes a little tricky on how to pick up on it. I got to be better with him because i could tell if he was telling the truth or not which he gradually started to do more, then he switched it up so now its much harder.


EDIT: after playing tonight and reading this thread, ive been much better at pickng up tells. Just listening to people call/reraise/ raise you can tell a lot, im not sure what it is, but im really happy about this thread.

[Brucio]

I don't know if it's really a tell, but whenever you bet into someone strongly post flop and they pick up their cards to check them, they ALWAYS fold.

This happens with the pros too. You can see it in live tournys.