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The Art of Reading Poker Tells – III

Reading other players also involves how they bet, and how they handle their chips and their cards. Today’s blog will deal with all of these “tells.”

To start with, the game of poker is essentially all about betting – when to raise, when to check, when to go all-in, etc. It is simply common sense then to study a person’s betting techniques along with his chip handling so that you can take the proper action. Many tells related to betting can also be used in online games. Let’s take a look at the most prevalent betting tells.

1.  Betting patterns:  The basic concept of using tells to your advantage is to recognize patterns in another player. This is most important in getting to know your opponent’s betting style. His style of betting, e.g., always checking after he’s made the nuts, can be most revealing. Knowing what to expect from him in particular situations gives you a great advantage in your own play.

2. The quick check:  If an opponent looks at his hand and quickly checks, it is not likely that his hand has improved. If it had, it would take longer for him to assess it.

3.  The quick call:  If a player is trying to communicate strength, he may quickly call a bet or reach for his chips before the previous player has even acted. According to the “strong is weak reasoning,” this would indicate that his hand is weak. If the player has you beat he may take longer to call in order to give you the impression that he has a big decision to make.

4.  Bet size:  This is the aspect of betting tells that is most important and it relates intimately to betting patterns as a tell. Note the size of your opponent’s bets in relation to the size of the pot. If you see your opponent’s cards at the end of the hand, be sure to take note of how he bet into the pot with the type of hand he had and you will be better able to predict what is going on in his head the next time he bets the same way.

And remember, if you are playing with an amateur he is less likely to vary from the “correct bet” in order to confuse his opponents.

5.  Long delay in betting:  When a player takes a long time to act, it is usually an indication that he has a big hand. If your opponent takes a long time and then raises, it would be best to get out of the hand, since he is not likely to be bluffing, for fear of your calling his raise.

6.  Soft betting:  If a player wants to give you the impression that he is nervous or unsure of his bet, he may act as though he is placing his bet very gently, hoping that you will think he has a weak hand, but actually wanting you to stay in the hand so he can win your money. Soft bets are almost never bluffs.

How a player handles his chips, whether betting, stacking or playing with them can also give off clues as to what he is up to. You should pay attention to his chips from the moment you come to the table. And if you have a choice of seats, always sit behind the fellow with a lot of chips so that you will have position on him.

1.  Chip stacking:  There are a number of different types of tells that involve how a player stacks his chips. Neatly stacked and well-organized chips may very well indicate a conservative player; just as chips strewn everywhere may indicate a loose player.

Some players stack their initial buy-in separately from their winnings. If you notice that the winning stack is dwindling, you can assume that if that player calls you or raises, he is doing so with a strong hand because he does not want to eat into his initial buy-in.

2.  Chip stacking during a hand:  If a player is stacking his winning chips from the previous hand, he is not likely to feel the need to involve himself in the current hand; that is, unless he has good cards. If he stops his stacking to play the hand, assume that the hand is strong.

In addition to how a player treats his chips, the way he handles his cards is extremely important.

1.  The pre-flop look:  Check out how a player looks at his cards pre-flop. If he looks at one card and then immediately looks at the other, this is an indication that the first card was not that good. However, if a player takes his time squeezing out the second card, the first card was probably good and he is looking for another good card.

2.  Suspense:  Poker players love the suspense of the game, so the speed of the player’s reaction or how long they stare at a card, can determine if it improved their hand.

3.  Faking a fold:  Beware of players who want to lure you into making a bet by looking as if they are about to fold. As Mike Caro says in his book, “there is no reason for any player to give you information out of turn, and they never do unless it is bad information.”