There are plenty of common tells that we all see. Its our own arrogance that there are all kinds of tells that we also give without realizing it. The higher the stake, the less tells there are to exploit. Tells defense becomes more important. So, without being the invisible man at the table, what are some practical tips for giving off less tells?
Here's what I do. Whenever I have someone who's pausing when considering my bets/raises, I just stare at the cards. If it's preflop, I stare at the pot. I do this whether I'm bluffing or value-betting.
Sometimes I mimic physiological tells in order to throw off more sophisticated players. I also tend to stare at the board when I am examined. Table talk usually does not help, but occasionally you can talk a sophisticated player into a fold, almost never you can talk them into a call.
It's hard to look at your whole cards exactly 3 seconds every time. I mean, you know exactly what they are after 3 seconds, and can even memorize the suits with practice, but invariably you just seem to stare at them the more of a decision it is. So, should I be more robotic, or occasionally reverse tells?
Same with passing out of turn. Invariably you'll look at your cards first and have the urge to telegraph your fold. Do you occasionally do this with a very strong hand in late to entice a blind steal, or rigidly always wait your turn. I find it hard to rigidly do everything the same, and few can pull it off.
Phil H can pull it off, of course. And on the other end of the spectrum there's Mike Caro who advocated wearing a wild persona.
You should just simply relax and dont think much about the strength of your hand, AKA dont overthink it. You can also not be perfectly still, being still actually makes it easier to pick up on any tiny movements vs just acting normal.
Just be as consistent as possible with all your actions. This obviously gets more difficult on each street, or at least it should, based on the board texture and bet/stack/pot size and previous action. If the board is wet, and the pot is growing, then try to balance your 'time to action' the same whether you have the nuts or are on a draw.
The more you are put in a spot the more natural your reactions are going to be, which should make it more difficult to read. I've found that players who try to fool you with false tells are actually showing more signs of being uncomfortable since this is a behavior they don't really do very often ... and they tend to over-act the action in order to make sure you 'see' the behavior. GL
