I watched funny tells given off by two players tonight. Whenever first player made a big bet or went all in, he covered the top of his head with his hand waiting for Villains to complete their action. Contrary to what I assumed, for him it was the nut or close to the nut every time.

Second player would firm up his upper lip in a look of determination when he had the hand and was betting. When he was in the pot without what he thought was the nut, he looked curious and bet/called without any real focus.

Not to sure why I am seeing new tells suddenly. Usually I pay little attention to them, but these two tells from two different players were rock solid consistent. I hope they continue.

Well the first one could just be him running good and being a tight player so he's showndown alot of nutted hand. This is a pretty extreme movement surely he would just do it everytime he bets??

Second guy is a fish tellbox and prob wouldn't last a week at the tables unless he has deep pockets.

Yeah, for the first one, it could have just been what he does every time; hard to say without bigger sample. Some people have a standard (sometimes weird) pose for whenever they make a big bet.

But I will say that, in general, a player who puts his hand near his face/head when betting will be more likely to be strong. This varies a lot, but I think it's a weakly reliable indicator of relaxation. Mainly because putting hands near our head (especially near our face) is a commonly known indicator of distress, which makes it less likely a bluffer or weak-hand bettor will do it. Of course it will vary a lot; the main use will be looking for players who do that more than most.

This advice is actually directly opposite advice than is in Caro's Book of Tells. Caro's "Law of Tells #5" in his book states this: "In the absence of indications to the contrary, call any bettor whose hand covers his mouth."

I think Caro's advice (and book) are generally good for very beginner-level players (like super-noob tourists and home game players) but I think some of the advice starts to be reversed for even somewhat experienced players. This is one specific example where I think it is likely to be reversed, and it's why I would recommend the opposite, and say: For any somewhat experienced player, in the absence of any contrary information, be more likely to fold to a bettor who covers his mouth." And a lot of hand-near-head behavior is kind of similar; the hand over mouth is just the most extreme "worried" type of this behavior.

But again, this will vary a lot and as always it's best to just watch someone to see how the behavior shows up. I wouldn't recommend basing a big decision on it in a vacuum.