Poker tells are little smoke signals at the poker table that can “tell” you something important about an opponent’s strategy and give you a clue regarding the hand that he or she is holding.
Poker tells can be behavior patterns, betting patterns, facial expressions, gestures, exclamations, habits or physical reactions, which players shout notice and then use to plan their next move.
Before studying poker tells, players should understand that poker tells are as unique as the individuals generating them, and to interpret a poker tell correctly, players need to spend long hours studying their opponents.
Here is a list of 10 top poker tells.
- Planning to Fold
If a player studies the cards, sits back and relaxes and does not appear to be enthusiastic, one can assume that the player had not received good cards and is planning to fold. However, do note that a tell this obvious can also be used as a bluff!
- Suddenly Interested
If a listless player suddenly takes keen interest in the game, there ought to be a good reason for it, especially if the player leans forward. It possibly means that he has a very good hand.
- Trembling Hands
New poker players usually suffer from this malady; unfortunately, nothing much can be done to hide trembling hands and they have volumes to say. Trembling hands usually mean that the player has a very strong hand and cannot contain his/her excitement.
- Over Confidence
A player who expresses over confidence need not really be taken seriously. If a player stares at his opponent confidently, challenging him/her with his eyes, the opponent can go ahead and call because the over confident player rarely has a big hand. However, players should beware of experienced or professional players appearing to be too confident.
- Good Hand Tells
If a player has a really good hand, he/she might pretend to be uninterested, get shaky hands, breathe quickly, sigh and shrug, or glance at hole cards and then at the chip stack.
- Weak Hand Tells
Players with weak hands might pretend to be aggressive; however, if an inexperienced player is trying to bluff, he/she might appear as if he/she has trouble breathing.
- Stacking Chips
If an opponent slaps his/her chips on the table hardly bothering about how they look, he/she might turn out to be an aggressive or loose player. On the other hand, if an opponent arranges his/her chips carefully, he/she might turn out to be a conservative and tight player.
- Disinterest
If a player appears interested, he/she probably has a good hand. On the other hand, good players can pretend to be uninterested even when they have great hands to fool their opponents into making expensive mistakes.
- Staring from Cards to Chip Stack
This player is quickly making plans on how much he/she can bet or raise and obviously has a good hand.
- Falling Silent
If a boisterous player suddenly falls silent, the other players at the table can take it for granted that he/she has got a very good hand and is trying to figure out how to win the maximum amount.
While reading tells, players should beware of experienced players who present false tells to fool them into making costly errors.