If you have ever faced a poker table full of formidable opponents, you might have a fair idea of how intimidating such an experience might be. Any poker player has had these moments bordering on sheer terror at some point in their poker playing career, and no one is immune to the nerve wracking scenario that unfolds before them. Of course more experienced players have managed to develop ways to combat these feelings, which so often lead to giving away your secrets to the other players around the table. These secrets give themselves away in various signs and mannerisms called “tells” that players so often reveal unconsciously. In order to effectively hide your “tells” it is important to understand what they are and how they surface at the poker table.
Tells can take the form of facial, body, and voice mannerisms, and they often give a clue to what cards the players in question are holding or what moves they are planning to make next. Tells that are based on facial and body movements are generally termed "visual" tells, and spoken clues that players give away are known as "audible" tells. There are even tells that are based on players’ betting mannerisms, which are naturally called betting tells. In real world poker games, all three types of tells can be detected by an experienced player. In online poker games on the other hand, the only thing that might give away a player’s intentions are betting tells.
Surprisingly, some tells can really be quite obvious. Many amateur players often can’t help but talk on and on at the poker table in a mistaken belief that it will make them seem more casual, when it actually has the opposite effect. Another fairly common tell is pretending to take a long time before making a move, perhaps thinking that it will give the impression of having a weak hand.
These are only a couple of examples of obvious tells and more often than not, the person who is guilty of them is not even consciously aware of what they are doing! More experienced players will know enough to avoid them, although there are subtler tells that even long time poker players may have trouble avoiding. Apart from the aforementioned examples, you should avoid rechecking your cards when you happen to chance upon a particularly strong hand, or acting optimistic and even warning the other players as a way of bluffing your way through a weak hand. You may also want to keep an eye out on habitual “tellers” so that you know what behavior to avoid in the future.
But perhaps one of the most important things you can do in order to constantly present a “tell-less” front is to keep your actions and mannerisms as basic and as consistent as possible at all times. This can involve everything from how you place your bet to how you place your chips into the pot. It may be a bit hard to contain your excitement–or disappointment–according to what happens in a game, but it is essential to develop this ability if you want to avoid giving away your secrets!
You may also want to try to keep your conversation to a minimum in order to avoid giving out auditory clues inadvertently. Try to resist the temptation to gloat, boast, or engage in trash talk. While it can be entertaining for you,
Tells can take the form of facial, body, and voice mannerisms, and they often give a clue to what cards the players in question are holding or what moves they are planning to make next. Tells that are based on facial and body movements are generally termed "visual" tells, and spoken clues that players give away are known as "audible" tells. There are even tells that are based on players’ betting mannerisms, which are naturally called betting tells. In real world poker games, all three types of tells can be detected by an experienced player. In online poker games on the other hand, the only thing that might give away a player’s intentions are betting tells.
Surprisingly, some tells can really be quite obvious. Many amateur players often can’t help but talk on and on at the poker table in a mistaken belief that it will make them seem more casual, when it actually has the opposite effect. Another fairly common tell is pretending to take a long time before making a move, perhaps thinking that it will give the impression of having a weak hand.
These are only a couple of examples of obvious tells and more often than not, the person who is guilty of them is not even consciously aware of what they are doing! More experienced players will know enough to avoid them, although there are subtler tells that even long time poker players may have trouble avoiding. Apart from the aforementioned examples, you should avoid rechecking your cards when you happen to chance upon a particularly strong hand, or acting optimistic and even warning the other players as a way of bluffing your way through a weak hand. You may also want to keep an eye out on habitual “tellers” so that you know what behavior to avoid in the future.
But perhaps one of the most important things you can do in order to constantly present a “tell-less” front is to keep your actions and mannerisms as basic and as consistent as possible at all times. This can involve everything from how you place your bet to how you place your chips into the pot. It may be a bit hard to contain your excitement–or disappointment–according to what happens in a game, but it is essential to develop this ability if you want to avoid giving away your secrets!
You may also want to try to keep your conversation to a minimum in order to avoid giving out auditory clues inadvertently. Try to resist the temptation to gloat, boast, or engage in trash talk. While it can be entertaining for you,
