Concealing Tells in Live Poker

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For those of us who got their start in poker at the online tables, the transition to live poker can be a difficult one. Not only do we have to worry about simple things like counting the size of the pot, paying attention to stack sizes, and keeping an eye out for the tournament clock, but we also have to deal with the huge amount of extra information available at a live table. We have to take in the information our opponents give us, and use it to make better decisions.

What we also have to do, however, is preserve information and avoid giving it away for free to our opponents. This rarely enters into the game online – timing tells are the only real ‘live reads’ we can get at a virtual table. In a live game, though, we will often find that even semi-competent players will play close attention to our physical behaviours, and thus it makes sense for us to take a look at a few ways to minimise the information we give away with our actions.

Two contrasting approaches

There are generally two ways to approach this process, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. One is a lot more common than the other, but it’s not necessarily easier – which style is right for you depends almost entirely on your own personality type and how you prefer to act at the table. More introverted personalities may prefer the first one, while more extroverted types may like the second – neither is inherently better.

Attempting to implement a style you’re not comfortable with will often have the same effect as it would strategically – it’ll backfire. If you tried to suddenly play super-aggressive despite the fact you’re usually a tighter player, it would likely result in some mistakes, and the same goes for hiding tells. If you adopt a strategy contrary to your personality, you’ll risk developing permanent blind spots that good players may be able to pick up on and exploit. Here are the two approaches themselves.

The ‘robot style’

The first approach is what you’ll commonly see from many players in today’s game – a very slow, calculated effort to completely minimize any variation in physical action at the table. This style involves developing a mechanical, easily-replicated process by which you perform each action – it might be as simplistic as making sure you always shuffle chips with the same hand, or always sit in the same posture, or it may extend as far as making sure you always take the same amount of time before each action, no matter the point you’re at in the hand.

If you’re a more naturally introverted person who doesn’t enjoy attracting attention, you’ll probably find this style a lot easier to execute – it’s easier to be ‘robotic’ than to force yourself to do the opposite. However, the drawback here is that when imperfectly executed, this strategy can leave holes – if you always do X as part of your routine but then absent-mindedly do Y in a big pot, it can set off a huge alarm bell. There’s no fallback option here – if you’re trying to stay completely still while your opponent is making a decision, for example, even the smallest movement of your mouth, eyes or hands may change their interpretation of the situation. If you want to with this option, be prepared to work hard at it over the course of many live tournaments.

The ‘overload style’

This style is the complete opposite of ‘robot style’. It relies upon providing your opponent with so much conflicting information – an information ‘overload’ – that they don’t know how to interpret it, or simply can’t sort through all the different pieces of information to figure out what’s actually relevant. It means you’re never robotic, you’re always moving or talking or shuffling chips, and you rarely do things the same way twice. This style is appropriate for only the most gregarious or outgoing of personalities – many people employ it only in specific situations, and thus they’re giving away a tell whenever they switch from robot style to overload style unprompted.

Theoretically this strategy is more easily exploitable than ‘robot style’, since it does give away a lot more information, but as long as you’re making an effort to randomize your actions and eliminate any pattern that may develop, you may find it more effective in generating the response from your opponent that you actually want. You’ll learn how to talk your opponent into folding or calling, or how to confuse them so much they simply have to see what you have.

Over time, working at playing this style will accomplish a few things – it’ll give you an extra tool in your arsenal with which to exploit your opponents, it’ll help you stay calmer and more relaxed since you’re not bottling up your emotions, and it’ll make you more fun to play with! You’ll be a fun, interesting player for whom doors may open up in future if you make it to a certain level in the game. The more people who play this way, the better for poker.

The key element in both styles

The ‘X factor’ in all of this – the one quality that will help you execute either style more effectively, and ensure you don’t give away unnecessary information in important situations, is your stress level at the table. The more anxious or nervous you are, the more likely you are to give away a tell, particularly in a big spot, so it’s in your interest to work on your mental game as well as your processes for concealing tells.

Your mental game is the foundation of any and all success that comes to you in poker – if you’re not focused on developing it to the fullest extent that you can, you’re missing out on opportunities. The more laid-back you are at the table, the fewer tells you’ll give away, and the more mental space you’ll free up to take note of your opponents’ tells. The process of playing a physically balanced or ‘unreadable’ live poker game starts with mastering your emotional state, so whichever concealment strategy you prefer, make sure it’s supported by the right kind of emotional preparation.