Spotting The Tells When You Play Poker.

Spotting a Tell is a skill that any good poker player will possess. Tells are barely conceivable signs that people transmit when they play poker which can be used by the experts to signify the strength of an opponents hand.

When you play poker there are two types of Tells that you should look out for. Firstly there are the voluntary tells. These are when a player starts acting or saying something to try and throw off their opposition or to deceive the other players at the table into increasing their bets.

Also worth noting are the involuntary tells, little movements or signs that can also indicate the strength of a players hand. When you play poker it is good to have a basic understanding of both voluntary and involuntary tells not only so you can spot these in other players, but also so you can prevent yourself from exposing your hand unintentionally. This is the reason a lot of professional poker players choose to wear eye and head wear during play and will rarely speak or change their actions in any way.

Some examples of classic poker tells are as follows:

When busy most players will have a good hand i.e., playing with their IPod, talking on the phone, eating acting casual. If he is in the pot you should only hang around if you have an excellent hand.

Intimidation signs signify a weak hand, shouting I raise, leaning on the table, throwing chips into the pot are all indicators of a weak hand.

Showing obvious signs of weakness i.e. betting slowly, leaning backwards, putting chips in the pot slowly - these all signify a strong hand and you should only stay in if you have a great hand yourself.

Beware of speech i.e. A mans got to do, what a mans got to do before raising or going all in, signifies a strong hand.

Placing bigger chips into the pot (0 instead of four chips) signifies a strong hand. People are fond of their bigger chips and less likely to risk them when they play poker.

Double checking for the suit when the flop has three of one suit and a player checks his hand again it is likely he also has a card of that suit and is checking to see which card it is.

In summary it can be determined that a player acting weak is strong and a player acting strong is weak. However, the most reliable information from a player can be ascertained from paying close attention to his betting patterns rather than his tells.

It is also worth remembering that experts will trick you with reverse tells if they think you are taking notice.