Poker tells are one of the most important aspects of poker, however they are often deemed less important than the math involved. While playing, it is crucial to observe your opponents in order to get clues as to the cards they are holding or the actions they may take. Even when not involved in a hand, you should be observing your opponents to see if you can identify any kind of behavioral tell that relates to cards, actions, or even emotions. You can also try to guess their poker hands before the showdown, and as you become better, you will start to become more accurate. Betting, obviously, reveals the most information and is the most important tell when playing online poker.
When playing live poker, learning to spot the tells of the players around you can be the difference between winning and losing. However, these days, when poker strategy is so widely available you must be careful of the counter-tell; the tell which is deliberately used to fool a player. Expert players are almost impossible to read so if you come up against a player you think is an expert, then it’s probably not even worth trying to read them.
Those normally focusing on Jackpot Scratch Cards should note that the eyes are the window to the soul, or in this case the window to your player’s hand. This is why you will see so many players sporting sunglasses at the tables (something I think should be banned). Big hole cards will usually attract a longer stare and possible even a widening of the eyes.
Sometimes a player will bet with lots of smaller denomination chips, in order to make the bet look more intimidating, which is a voluntary tell. You may also observe a player stacking their original buy-in separately from their profit in that particular poker session, indicating they may not want to lose their buy-in. Bets of slightly more than their profit pile might well earn you a pot when they have a tough call.
Looking – A player staring at a flop intently has generally missed, while a player immediately glancing away is trying to look uninterested, when they are strong. A poker player looking at their chips immediately after a card is dealt, has generally improved their hand and is thinking of betting. This isn’t to be confused with immediately reaching for chips, which is usually a fake show of strength to deter someone else from betting.