I'm only saying that such books are to be used as a guide...not gospel

Relying too heavily on one piece of information can be dangerous but the fun comes in experience

For example, when I first read CBOT a friend of mine always covered his mouth when he bet - but it was certainly not for the reasons Mr Caro described...but that's ok...cos the book was a guide to me to help me learn to observe and dissimilate that information

Use what works...

I def don't rely on them. Physical tells is well down the check list, but they have their place.

Here was an interesting read I made today in a 1/3 game.

There was a button straddle by a very loose and aggressive tilted player that was probably playing about 60/40/20 vpip/pfr/3bet (stack 200 ish). Then an early position player limped, a young chinese guy that hadn't been there very long but seemed like a player with some experience. I raised to 28 with TT, it folded to the tilted LAG who called, and the chinese guy pushed all in for about 150. I asked him where he was from, and he said Texas. I said "you look like a Texan." He laughed, and I felt like his laugh indicated to me something about his character that made me believe he wasn't some nit that would only ever have the nutty hands here. A different response from him and I might've folded. I called and he had AQ.

The people saying not to read a book on tells probably have never read a book on tells. They don't tell you that specific actions mean specific things - they tell you how to observe, how to hide your own tells, what kinds of things to look for, how to define baselines on each player (different things mean different things to each player), etc.

I think that once you get to know someone's play, betting tells are probably more accurate than physical ones, especially at lower stakes. But that doesn't mean that physical tells aren't useful.

I see people with their cards in their hand, just ready to throw them in the muck as soon as you bet - and it is almost never a reverse tell, they really are weak and ready to fold. People who seem exasperated when a particular card hits - then proceed to fire a big bet - are almost always happy as hell to have seen that card.

This isn't a strategy forum, but I think this is a snap shove without a read.

EP limp-reraises against small fields are weak. It's almost always AK-AQ, 99-. Sometimes you get weirdos, but for the most part, people are wimpy and want to flop something before they come out firing, but then when it's 3-handed, their hand looks too good to flat and they think they can take the pot down right away. It's doubly true in this case where the LAG calls you, setting EP up for a perfect squeeze (assuming he thinks of you as aggressive enough to have a raise/fold range).

TT is a snap RAISE (you really called with $50 effective behind?) without a read.

This is what I'm saying about people relying on tells. Range analysis here obviates tell analysis.

The 50 behind seemed irrelevant. I pretty much knew the LAG was folding anything that he didn't initially 3 bet with, and if not, there'd be 450 in the pot and 50 behind, so pointless to be concerned with that. If he wants to pay 125$ more to try and catch a flop he likes with $50 behind, that's fine with me.

The game was 9 handed if that was miscommunicated. The rest of the table folded pre.

Also, thinking a hand like this is a snap-anything to me is silly. Online sure, but live there is more to take in, and a thoughtful pause can lead to better decisions. There are plenty of players out there with tight enough ranges when it comes to getting their chips in, that I'd happily and confidently fold this hand to.

And in live games, there is always some sort of read, if you pay enough attention. His age, gender, and appearance were all things I would consider reads. Taking a few seconds to look him over and saying something to get a reaction are useful tools.

Next time you don't care about $50, ship it to me.


You're confusing reads and tells. You should always pick up on reads. But you don't need to do it in a hand. As a matter of fact, gathering reads while NOT in a hand is better, as people are unguarded. Look, for instance, to see what he's paying attention to when not in a hand - the TV, the waitress, his phone, or the board?

Your read on him should have established your opening range to begin with. Presumably you didn't think he was so tight that your TT didn't have equity; he has a beheaded, probably wide, range. When he LRRs, you now narrow his range, and by quite a bit. He has a narrow range that you destroy. You can ask all the questions you want, but donks gonna donk no matter where he's from or how he answers your question.

I love it when people ask me questions. It shows they're paying attention to me rather than all the clues I've dropped throughout the hand. One practiced response (my favorite is, "I have jacks," as in almost any situation JJ is believable) and my opponent spends the rest of the clock thinking about a red herring.

Timing tells. Man oh man, timing tells.

Some people confidently jabber when they're strong; some when they're weak. When someone snap bets on a scare card, he has it. When someone snap re-raises, he has it.

+1

Hahaha...the ol big sigh before big bet move...classic

This I'm interested somewhat in with a particular player who jabbers in every pot he's in...

Im generally too busy trying to not give a tell to get many, I just stare down postflop. But if its obvious and you know it then Ill stick with my gut.

Tells and reads are an absolute huge part of playing live for me. You really just have to pay attention to see if you can use some tells or not. I was playing about a month ago and I have saw a guy have two hands. He showed AA and KK afterwards and I thought he was going to have a heart attack at the table he was breathing so hard while he was playing the hands. How the other people didn't notice this blew my mind. About an hour after that though I was in hand and he opened it up for 1100. I popped it to 3200 with a10o and then he 4bet to 9000. His face was turning red and it looked like he was afraid to breathe. A lot of people hold their breathe when bluffing and this guy was a perfect example of that. And the fact that he didn't look like he was about to hyperventilate made my decision obvious. I made it 20,000 total and he actually sat there awhile before folding and I was 100% sure he was hollywooding, but I would have done that with any 2 cards. Anybody who says tells and reads aren't worth looking for is someone you shouldn't be listening too.

Focus on your own tells. By correcting them, u become more aware of everyone else's. play all hands with same motions, style, and character every time. You can then control " the monster inside you " when u flop nuts!!

Tells and reads are worth it if you use it right. They'll help in marginal situations.

The problem is too often people put too much into alittle. HOC says to give them less attention because you will often find the tell doesn't help. Their betting and play style should give you more solid reads, and then compliment that with tells. If the tell says he has a hand, it may not tell you whether it is better than yours! Tyrober had to watch his opponent get AA, KK, and then have a decent hand when his opponent started to bluff. That takes alot of time (unless he was actually close to hyperventaling obviously).

If you're starting out, do this.

Avoid eye contact. Don't let them know you're watching them yet.
Hold your cards the same way be it bluffing, betting, folding, calling, whatever.
Put your chips in the pot the same way.
Watch their hands and how they hold their cards.

The tells I look for (small stakes), is the people on my left (as I'll try to steal their blinds) and the people on my right (as I'll act after them). If you're in middle or late position and notice tells the others are likely to fold, try to steal the blinds. If you notice they seem ready to bet and hold their cards to protect them, then don't. Guy on your right is holding his cards like he has a drawing hand, bet the pot. On your right checks but looks like he's slowplaying, then take a free card.

Joe Nevarro has done extensive work on tells and has written a book and many articles detailing what to look for. However, knowing this information and using it are two different things. Plus, people will often give off "false tells" if they are educated enough to use them to their advantage.

At the lower stakes, understanding and recognizing betting patterns is more important than recognizing tells. Learning chip placement and hand movements can also help, but learning to range your opponent is even more critical. You can beat the game just by playing well and ranging your opponents carefully. Plus, listen to table talk, as you will be surprised how much your opponents will tell you about their game.

I use them to help me judge player types. Sometimes you can get a good idea by looking at body language whether someone is passive or aggressive. Combine body language with betting patterns and it can help when playing new people.

Hollywood exaggerates them. Some are relevant, but overall learning a players tendencies is more important than trying to study their facial ticks.

One tell that seems relatively reliable is how much someone talks in big hands. Being overly talkative can mean they are relaxed. A lot of people will avoid talking when bluffing because they don't want to give anything away.

Actually this is a good point - didn't really think of it this way

What I do with new players in any game is begin to ask seemingly innocent questions to see how serious they are about poker.

Things like:

" Did you see the hand on X show between X and Y? - yes/no = what did you think of X play?"

Their response helps me determine if they're gonna be a fishy type/solid type

It's not always so clear so I wait til they sit down and play and see if their early actions are congruent with the prior knowledge

I will find out very quickly where they stand against me (through chip handling, card handling, betting, etc) - whether they were BS beforehand or not

For example - this new guy joined our regular game and I introduced myself and asked if he played much poker...

He replied "Do you mean games or hands?"

Wtf - who says this?? No one in a live situation first meet - I judged he was fishy as - but I only confirmed this through later observation

To be fair, against anyone good this would never happen. This guy turning bright red and not breathing is a difficult tell to be aware of and quite rare to have a played as awful as this exist, i mean look as his 3b fold size. Basically this guy is an anomaly lol

Sorry, but that is horrible advice, and clearly comes from someone who has not read the books about tells. Both Mike Caro's and Joe Navaro's books clearly explain how to read tells, and the variation the humans give to them. I stronly recommend Phil Hellmuth Presents Read 'Em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells Paperback
by Joe Navarro, Marvin Karlins, Jr. Hellmuth Phil

I would say there is not a single game where someone has a blatant tell, and why not benefit from that. I have sat at a 5/10 game with a excellent player who's would shake his foot all night, and instantly stop when he hits his flush or straight. They abound in live poker. I follow Navarro's advice and spend my first hour just getting down the behavioral patterns- never been a better hour spent.

At low stakes betting patterns and ranges ftw. Tells are awesome but not the best for information on big decisions at low stakes. Most at this level play their cards face up.

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Rely on them? No. Exploit them when I see them? Yes.

Never call the shrugging bettor.

If you can't control the adrenaline shake you just fake a shake in the hands when you make a bluff.

So it counteracts the natural adrenaline shake.