By Dr. Check Raise
©  August 1, 2009

There are several good books on poker tells. Personally, I think that the number one thing that reading a book on poker tells does for you is make you more conscience of how you act while playing a hand. The best piece of advice that I have not spotted in a poker tell book you will read right here.

I have found myself time and time again scanning the poker table for tells after reading such a book. My attention is so spread out I feel like I am not effective at times and pick up nothing. That was until I discovered the true untold secret about poker tells.

Focus on the “Table Captain,” that aggressive player who takes control of the table. He or she is the one you are going to make the most money off of if you do spot a tell. In my opinion, they are the person most likely to be giving off a tell in the first place.

First of all, you must pay attention to not only what the player is doing, but also what the player is not doing. Another key factor in turning tells into something you can use is that you need to pay particular attention to all of the hands your opponent is in. Not only should you watch the hands the force everyone out of the hand, you have to pay particular attention to hands that go to a showdown, the hands they win, and the hands they give up on a raise. Only by spotting their tells and then seeing the cards that go along with them, can you turn their actions against them.

Personally, I do not wear sunglasses to hide a tell, instead, I wear them to hide the fact that I am watching you for a tell. With shaded lenses I can watch the whole table and no one knows who I am looking at. For me, the most obvious places to gather information is paying close attention to their mouth, their hands and their overall posture. Here are a few examples of what I have run across at the poker table.

The first one was easy, though I am certain I am the only one that picked up on it at the time. This player was raising every hand he got involved in, as well as betting every street in or out of position What I noticed was that he would look at his cards then look at the board then place a bet. The turn would come and he would look at his cards, look at the board and then make a bet, and the same with the river. Then I noticed that one time when the river came he did not look at his cards before he bet. When the hand was shown down I could see that he made his hand on the river. So, if he was looking at his cards before he bet, he had not made a hand yet. If he bet without looking at his hole cards then he had made his hand. From that point forward all I had to do was raise when he looked at his cards and get out of his way when he bet without looking. Very simple and very profitable.

My next player example involved another aggressive player. He would raise every hand he decided to play and made a continuation bet on every flop, as well as on the turn and the river. Since the face/mouth is the main place to look for tells, I focused on what he did differently from hand to hand. I noticed that sometimes he would purse his lips and then contort his mouth to his left. I hope you can picture that. When he did this, I noticed that it was not that he did not have a hand, but that he was concerned about the hand he had. Some tells may show nervousness because the hand is weak or they fear someone is going to draw out on them. When I confirmed for myself that he was worried about his hand when he pursed his lips and then moved it to his left I was ready to act on that information when I got in a hand with him. (At this point always be careful to remember that just because you have a tell on one player, don’t forget, that you still have to beat the other 7 or 8 players at the table as well.) So, I finally maneuver into a heads up hand with him. I have turned a full house with pocket kings, and by his betting, he is representing a big hand himself. Finally, on the river he make a sizable continuation bet and I simply wait. I wait and stall to see if he gives off his weak tell. I am not waiting because I am worried about him beating me. Instead, I want to know if he can call a strong raise.

His not showing a tell, was in itself a tell that he was strong. I moved all in and he called with trip sixes and an ace kicker. The fact that I could tell when he was strong and when he was weak helped me to get paid the maximum. Normally I would have only made a minimum raise in that situation to make sure I got paid. But since I knew he had a strong hand, I could move all in with the confidence that he would call.

Just a few simple tells can help you win more and lose less, as well as steal a few pots now and again. The first thing a player does with his eyes after getting new information is usually the most accurate tell. If immediately after seeing a flop the player looks at his chips for a split second then looks away, then he probably hit that flop hard. Since the flop improved his hand, he may check it to let someone else bet it or he may feel he is strong enough to let someone catch up a little.

Do not confuse this with someone who looks at or fondles his chips for a long time before checking. This action normally means the player has nothing or at best a draw and is trying to make you afraid to bet so he can see a card for free. I have even had people count out some chips and then check. When they do this I will normally say, “How much do you have in your hand there? That looks reasonable.” Then bet the amount that they acted like they wanted to bet. Without getting a chance to see a free card, they usually fold, though they sometimes call for the sake of appearances, then fold on the turn. My cards don’t matter at this point.

If a player looks at his hole cards and then his posture improves, I will usually stay out of their way, no matter whether they check or bet. A player telling another player that it is their turn, trying to get that action around to them as soon as possible, is another sign of a big hand.

I have discussed several of the easiest tells to spot. This does not mean that every time you sit down at the table you will be able to pick up on another player’s tell. Some days you just cannot see anything. Some days as soon as you observe a tell, they break your table (especially in tournament situations). Other times, you may spot a tell and never have an opportunity to get heads-up with your target. But, by only focusing on the aggressive player at the table, the one pushing the action, you can often pick up a tell. Once you do, just sit back and wait for the opportunity to exploit that information.