The face, legs, and mouth have been the focus of my columns recently because they often betray the most obvious nonverbals, but I’ve neglected a very important area of the body that can really cue you in on an opponent’s emotions. Tells of the fi ngers and thumbs can be a valuable part of your investigation at the table, so next time you’re trying to read an opponent’s hand, try paying some attention to their hands. Throughout my lectures, I’m often asked the same question in reference to the fingers and thumbs: "Does it mean anything when players are playing with thetheir chips?"

For the next two months, I have purposely focused on one specifi c area of the body. The mouth and the tells that are revealed there are probably the most accurate of all the body tells, especially the face. I know what you are thinking after months of reading this column: “Joe, you’ve said the feet are the most reliable place to pick up tells.” That is true, but when looking at the face, the mouth wins the tells contest hands down. It is probably the best place to decipher the feelings, thoughts, and intentions of another player. When it comes to poker, the mouth is one place we should scrutinize carefully.

I’m a poker player who’s obsessed with tells. I can’t help it. My early poker adventures, before I was 23 or thereabout, were exercises in discipline. I played tight, conservative, unimaginative poker. I took pride in playing only hands that were clearly profi table, in never cracking. Every hand I folded made me feel wiser, more sensible, and superior to my opponents. And because those opponents played too many hands and called too often, I was able to win. But not significantly.

As we grow in the game of poker, it's useful not to expect too much too soon. One way to curb expectation appropriately is to think of ourselves as serving an apprenticeship. There are a few reasons for this.

Here's a question I hear all the time: "How short a stack can you play before it's not profitable anymore? At some point, the blinds eat you away too fast and you can't wait for a good hand anymore, right?"

Most of my personal history is quite blurry, and I have to piece together conversations and events as closely as I can. Oddly I specifically remember an exchange I had with a young poker player 30 years ago. I remember it, because I immediately went home and solidified my thoughts regarding it. It became the focal point for much of my teaching.

"I put him on ace-queen," Roger explained to me, years ago at the Dunes poker room in Las Vegas. "But it turns out that he had eight-five and flopped a queen-seven-six for an open-end straight draw. Then, on the damn river, there comes this ugly four and he makes this impossible straight."  

There are certain gifts that opponents bring to your table. These gifts are not earned on your part; but are there if you take advantage of them. Of course, one of the obvious allies is your opponent’s bad luck. Good players take advantage of that. It may be because the worst players at the table are usually the luckiest. They play cards that good players wouldn’t consider and thus have a chance to get lucky more often. Good players must rely on the bad luck of these same players and avoid their lucky streaks.

Previously, we discussed how other players bring certain gifts to the table, like failing to lay down losing hands. We referred to these as “poker allies,” because they help us take advantage of things like other players’ bad luck. Such advantages are things to look out for. However, good players also look out for making mistakes—the enemies of poker.