Villain limps quite a bit but he seems to be an okay player. Younger guy. He handles himself well at the table. I very rarely ever limp and I am quite aggressive post flop. We have been playing together for about 2 and half hours.

We are playing 1/2 NLHE.

Hero and V have about 250 in their stacks.

Villain limps UTG.
Everyone limps to Hero in SB who raises with JJ to 20.
BB folds, Villain calls, everyone else folds.

Flop (Pot 54): 6h6d3d

Hero bets 30.
V tanks and raises to 60.
Hero calls.

Turn (Pot 174): 8c

Hero checks.
V bets 110.

Now, the way he bet this was weird. Hero waited about 20 seconds before checking. I typically keep one hand on my cards and the other hand over my mouth where only my eyes are exposed.

The instant I checked, V took 2 chips (10) and put it on top of a single 100 stack and pushed it in. When he did this, he knocked some of the chips off the top of the stack because of how hard he pushed it in.

He collected the chips that fell off and stacked it back on the stack. While he did this, I watched his hands. They were visibly shaking a lot.

He went back to shuffling another stack of chips while his hands were still shaking. I noticed he was breathing really heavy.

I decided that I wanted to "ice" him so I just sat there and stared at everything he would do. He mostly stared at the board but would occasionally look at my eyes, notice I was looking at him, then immediately look back at the board.

After a few moments, his hands stopping shaking and his breathing seemed to calm down.

Is this his adrenaline pumping because he hit a monster or him trying to rep a 6 that he doesn't have?

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typically a shaking hand is a sign of strength, although it is usually more subtle than what you have described. it is a release of tension; the hand is over, he has won.

That's how I read it. Ended up folding. I thought about my own hands before when I flop monster hands and how much adrenaline gets flowing and it's hard to stay calm.

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Tells in combination give a lot of info. Assuming Villain isn't acting (which is rare in 1/2), heavy breathing, trembling, and avoiding eye contact are probably the three most universal signs of strength there are. Based on the play, he either flopped the boat, or more likely, filled up on the turn with 88.

The instant I checked, V took 2 chips (10) and put it on top of a single 100 stack and pushed it in. When he did this, he knocked some of the chips off the top of the stack because of how hard he pushed it in.

He collected the chips that fell off and stacked it back on the stack. While he did this, I watched his hands. They were visibly shaking a lot.



I agree that when an opponent is visibly shaking this signals strength, BUT in my experience when opponent collects the chips and stacks them back on top, this is almost always weakness. Usually when someone has a big hand they wouldn't worry too much about restacking the chips. They tend to make as little movement as possible. Also, this coupled with the fact that he bet almost instantaneously hints that he is weak. If he was super strong I would expect him to think longer about his bet sizing, seeing that he bet what 110 with 70 behind?

The insta-bet and the restacking of his spilled chips are signs of weakness. (Usually.)

Shaking and heavy breathing is usually strong... but it's player dependent.

I think in this case, he was shaking and breathing heavily because he was making a big bluff. He then relaxed as you tanked because you didn't quickly call or jam.

That's how I see it, anyway.

I like this response but it could be all wrong too.
1) A limping player 'all of a sudden' wants to play with 'lots' of chips? ... strong
2) It could just be a very large pot for him and he doesn't want to lose .. thus shaking while betting .. both strong and weak
3) Relaxing 'over time' allow him to think your hand is weaker and weaker or you are more likely to fold than call. So in either case (nervous about a suck out or pure bluff) he can relax when you look closer to folding .. flip.
4) Insta-betting just means that the 8 didn't change his thoughts on the hand .. It certainly doesn't mean he isn't holding AA as a 'weak' hand and is still afraid of a flush draw.

The fact that he didn't 'insta-shove' (leaving $60 behind) leads me to believe he was pretty strong and then you gave him enough time to calm down from the 'big pot' and realize he was going to win it .. or was at least probably ahead at that time. GL

As with all tells, you need history. At worst this guy has 2 overs with a flush draw. GL

i feel like re-stacking toppled chips is a sign of strength. The chips must be organized for you to call (the dealer has to count them down) and he's trying to get them closer to that state.

Allowing toppled chips to remain scrambled would be a signal of weakness. Both because it could be a reverse tell (i.e., he's deliberately trying to look so relaxed by ignoring the mess even though he tried to place them neatly) and also it would imply his hope you fold without needing a countdown.

The "messy chips = strength" would apply if the villain's betting motion was deliberately making them messy. That's distinct from accidentally toppling.

Agreed ... Shaking is usually a sign of strength for me .... I got 4 of a kind (6)s last month and I could NOT stop shaking lmao

This is so funny to play with, sometimes i shake with the nuts and sometimes with the cold nuts.. depends on against the player i am playing. Newbies will call faster with a shake

Insta-fold! (Unless you want to delay your fold to gain more observations about him for later).

Pushing a stack of chips along the felt = strength.
Shaking = strength.
Looking at the board but occasionally glancing at your eyes and then back at the board = strength.
Heavy breathing = strength.

Someone could reverse tell some of this, but in this case seems like classic can't control the adrenaline. Conclusion: he has quads, the stone cold nuts. He eventually got himself under control a bit while you "iced" him.

By the way, which way did the chips fall off his stack - towards you or away from you? Which direction did he push the stack in - towards you, center or away from you?