Quote:
Originally Posted by Lunkwill
My favorite is an increased respiration rate when they have a monster.
It's probably correlated with hand shaking but I've found it to be more reliable.
Yeah some recs are so bad at controlling their breathing you instantly know they're polarized. I've seen this pattern with players making large bluffs also though. I've found if I tank a few minutes and the breathing starts to slow it's probably the nuts as they're realizing they might not get paid and excitement fades. If I tank a few minutes and the breathing speeds up it's probably a bluff as they're realizing they might get called. I especially like to, after a few minutes, gather out the chips for a call and watch the player's reaction through peripheral vision. Often they start to look more excited again or conversely suddenly look very uncomfortable.
Had one hand I was tanking a few minutes after a huge turn overshove. Someone calls clock and I say "that won't be necessary" and count out the chips for a call. The guy looks super dejected and I push them forward, and in fact he was bluffing. If his reaction had been more neutral or especially looking eager or excited the plan was to say "never mind I fold" after gathering the chips.
@Black Aces
I *always* ask how much is it before raising or even calling (unless I can VERY clearly see the raise amount). I need to know the exact amount to make my decision and it's particularly important for raising so I size correctly. It doesn't mean anything as far as hand strength. I could have a bluff, the nuts, a thin value raise. Whatever.
I have noticed when other people ask this and then raise they're somewhat more likely to be nutted, but it varies from player to player. Some of us can't see that well and want to get the count right. Some people want to seem like they're weak and then raise, but this makes no sense to me. You don't look weak if you raise even if you just asked "how much is it?" before putting the raise out.
Also some people will put out bets with large denomination chips on the bottom of a stack. If I ask the dealer he always separates them and I can gauge the player's reaction. Usually the "big chips on bottom" bet is a very strong hand, particularly on an all-in. Someone with a short stack of say 275 at 2/5 has 2 black 1 green 10 red. If he shoves without verbalizing and has the 2 black on bottom, then the green, then the 10 reds on top, he is quite strong and wants a call. JJ+ AK usually with a disproportionate amount of KK+.