I do this all the time when bluffing. Kind of like the strong equals weak thing. You'd think I'd learn by now.

Seems like most people who ask this, if you respond yes they think you are weak and will usually call.
It's sometimes a tricky one to answer and I usually abstain or if I have a strong hand and they are tanking I'll over to show them if they fold. This can sometimes induce a call.
Now that I think about it I think when I'm asked this question I'm going to answer "will you show if you fold?"
That may be a curve ball.

I haven't found that post-bet drinking correlates more strongly to bluffs or strong hands. I did a little study on this and made what was meant to be a mainly-fun video about it:



and the video was mainly meant to show the many ways post-bet drinking can show up. It's easy to imagine it as both a genuine act of relaxation; it's also easy to imagine a bluffer being agitated a bit and doing it. Like a like of behavior, it's pretty well-balanced in my opinion and I couldn't find a pattern.

That being said, I'm open to the idea that there's a pattern and maybe it does lean more heavily to bluffers. In the examples I looked at, it was admittedly mainly experienced players, so maybe for less-experienced players there's a more noticeable pattern.

This was a funny story. Once I was playing $1-2 and I made a big bluff raise on the turn and took a drink. The guy called me and told everyone he called because I took a drink, because he'd seen a video online that showed how taking a drink was more likely to be a bluff. He didn't know it, but he was apparently talking about mine, and it sounded like he hadn't actually read the description or watched the whole video. That was one reason I changed the title of the YouTube video, to make it a little more clear what my intention was. But it was interesting because I think I accidentally have contributed to the idea that taking a drink after betting is likely to represent weakness, even though I was actually just trying to show it shows up a lot with many different hand strengths.

I think it would be more interesting to do a study on this with less experienced players. I would guess high stakes players are mostly aware of their body actions, and may exhibit actions that are essentially an engagement of a leveling war (or at the very least, a reverse tell). I agree that this tell is fairly polarized among the whole population, but on an individual basis it seems to be a reliable tell once you can figure out which side [bluffing_strong] villain stands on.

There has been a few times when I was short stack another player asked, how much I had left or wanted a chip count. I *quickly* showed them or counted, then they just check their hand. I figured they were trying to get me nervous or look for a reaction to see if they could bet me out of the hand.

I play regularly with players that have tells on how they put their chips in. One guy will pick up a stack, tap it on the table twice and then put it in if he is chasing, as if he is psyching himself up before he calls. If he has something good he will put in his chips but slide them off the stack as he puts them in so they are laying diagonally on top of each other (\\\\) If he is bluffing he picks up his stack and slams is hard on the table.

Two comments. First, like most physical tells, it is more accurate on the less experienced players. because it is a little less known than some of the other tells, I found it to be reliable up to a slightly higher skill level than most other tells. Second, there are some subtle differences in the way they took the drink. They weren't relaxed (or feigning relaxation). It seemed more of a response to the pressure of the other player tanking. Neither player seemed too aware that they were getting a drink, so I thought it was more of a nervous response. In the two cases I am thinking of, they had both made all-in raises with flush draws, so i don't think they wanted a call.

Mileage may vary on that one. But I have not found most tells to be that reliable at all

I do this all the time as well, though I doubt anyone is picking up on it...

Another tell is when a player verbally puts you on a hand/ says " i think you have a king", they almost always have better than that hand. Such as the flop comes A44, I bet and a older player says " you could have a big ace here" and calls. Then When the hand ends he shows a 4. I've never seen this tell to not be true

Verbalizing bet amount = strength.

I play with a guy that when he is bluffing he stares straight ahead stiff and emotionless. If he has it he is relaxed, smiles looking around the table at the other players.

A poker buddy said he was at a table where when a guy was bluffing he would lean back in his chair, when he had a hand he would lean forward into the table. The table picked up on this quickly and the guy could not figure out why he couldn't bluff anyone and why everyone folded when he made a bet.

I know exactly what you're talking about: the upturned hand, looks like a quick little half-shrug, always done while making a bet or raise (or immediately before or after).

It's the body language equivalent of "Oh well, guess I have no choice but to bet this straight flush." I classify it as being in the category of "reluctant bet" tells—similar to poker-clack, as you mentioned.

I see this one all the time with inexperienced/recreational players, but seldom any serious students of the game. I have a long-time friend from high school who does it on the rare occasions he plays poker with me. Since I don't mind helping him improve, I've pointed it out to him several times. He may switch it up after I say something and then use it for a bluff, but he'll be right back to it the next time we play. Seems almost like a nervous reaction more than a weak-means-strong acting tell.

Covering mouth with hand when bluffing is like noob tell 101

anytime someone's given me intense eye contact on the river it's been a bluff.

depends on player - have known players that verbalize ALL bets.
Plus you see Phil Laak do this a lot too - both weak or strong.


a guy looking at his chips after seeing the flop or turn - is often an indication of his intention to bet. If he checks - he often will check/raise.
(more valid with rec players than regs)

I knew a player that couldn't make eye contact on a bluff.

Watch out for players who are relaxed and kicked back in their seat, then suddenly sit upright and get closer to the table. They just looked at a big starting hand.

With drinks I normally only take a drink when I'm not in the hand. The other time is when someone is staring at me to try to get a read or something I always turn and take a drink, regardless of hand strength so hopefully my taking a drink range is balanced there.

I've also observed players looking away from flops they have hit.

Looking left before you act also helps because sometime people are ready to pitch their cards in and you are effectively on the button instead of the HJ and should adjust your range accordingly.

I've finished Elwood's book and for me (some Asperger's symptoms) it was a bit of a drink from the firehose. I think things that are specific actions (looks away from flop, looks at opponent chips etc.) are easier for me to pick up on than the demeanour based ones. What 1 or 2 things do people suggest I look for in addition to looking away from the flop?

face guarding is also one of the most known tells, and a very commonly mimicked one.

Maybe but make sure its not because of an oversize chip. I only verbalise my bet when it's necessary for clarification.

not the most reliable tell. I often notice players who verbalise their bet with an upward inflection (almost as if asking a question.) Some of the time this is an indication of weakness trying to get their opponent to fold, almost as if asking "will this amount get the job done?"

But even that is unreliable as sometimes people will have the same tendency but will do it in a way that's more like, "is this the most amount I can get you to call?"

This is one of the problems with reading tells. Tells can usually give information about a mindset, but that still leaves much open to interpretation. In this case, upward inflection on the verbalization indicates uncertainty about the bet, but gives no nature about the uncertainty.

A lot of other tells, like stress indicators, also leave things very open to interpretation. Is someone stressed because they are afraid of a call, or stressed because they are afraid you won't call them. Is someone showing relaxation because they are comfortable with their hand, or have they just accepted that it is time to make a move and are OK with taking the risk?

yeah as long as there are new players this will never go away

is it just me or do obvious tells tilt you, you just want to lay into him and ask if he really thinks his stare is intimidating enough to get anyone to fold, and its even more tilting when some dumb fish falls for it

the tell i hate the most is the double clutch moving chips back and forth as if they dont know if they will call or fold and then ultimately shove iv only seen a couple old dudes make this play before(maybe this is more of a angel than a tell)

Bet, then looking up at overhead TV's with one hand relaxed on top of the other = Super Strong

I find it just as profitable to act . I like to advertise and set up a fake tell for later. When I know someone is very accurate overly studying people when not in a hand. I'll make very subtle fake tells that are true when I believe I will get called and I'm bluffing someone. Touch my neck ear or under nose very briefly maybe compress lips. Get caught and show. Maybe I do this in small pots and bet 20 percent bucks, never against future villain. Then later hopefully late at night when villain is tired, use the fake tell when I've got it. For a big pot when I think he is strong and I've got it. Works for me . Give them baseline info and change up