1. Body Language Poker Tells Best

BODY LANGUAGE FOR POKER PLAYERS: SPOTTING TELLS It's one of the most talked about parts of poker: the tells. Whether or not you are at a multi-table tournament or a cash game, poker tells are always there. The pro's learn to hide them, the amateurs die by them. No matter your skill level, you too can learn to profit from spotting, and using, tells. If you want to increase the odds of victory drastically in your favor, learning body language just might be your ace in the hole. I know some of you are saying, “Well if I have a non-suited 7-2 and they have 4 of a kind they will almost definitely win! I doubt knowing body language and poker tells would help me then”.

BODY LANGUAGE FOR POKER PLAYERS: SPOTTING TELLS It's one of the most talked about parts of poker: the tells. Whether or not you are at a multi-table tournament or a cash game, poker tells are always there. The pro's learn to hide them, the amateurs die by them. No matter your skill level, you too can learn to profit from spotting, and using, tells.

Spotting a tell is often difficult for new players or players who are not used to looking for them. Each player is different, and what may mean one thing for one player may mean something else for another. The easiest way to get into the habit of spotting tells is to start small: watch one person at a time. Watch how they act when they fold without betting, how they act when they have a good hand, how they act when they are bluffing, etc. Once you are confident in your ability to read one player, start studying others and see if the tells appear with them as well. More often then not, you will start learning what tells happen most often, and how to spot them.

Tells are often very subtle, but one you learn to spot them it will be much easier to pick up the clues. Remember the basic truism: in poker, showing strength means you are weak, while showing weakness means you are strong. It's a game of perception, and you need to be perceptive to spot the tells Here is a list of some of the most commonly encountered tells in poker:

? The Lean Back: A player is often conscious of the other people at the table, and if they know you are looking at them, they may sometimes do one of the classic tells: the lean-back. A player who has a strong hand will often lean back from the table, crossing their arms in front of them. This is an unconscious showing of their desire to seem nonthreatening. If you see this, the player is probably sitting on a good hand.

? The Easy Smile: The stare-down is a commonly used tactic at the poker table. If the hand is down to you and one other player, and you want to know what that player has, try staring them down. If they look back at you and they are sitting on a good hand, they will often offer a smile slightly after making eye-contact. But be careful. A true smile will bring the corners of the eyes back as well as the corners of the mouth. A fake smile where only the mouth smiles is usually an indicator of weakness. You'll need to be sure you are able to tell the difference between a genuine and fake smile.

? It's in the Eyes: When a player is dealt a great starting hand, such as a pair of kings in hold 'em or A-2-A-4 in Omaha, their eyes tend to get bigger. What you need to look for is someone who looks like they just saw something they like very much. The muscles around their eyes will unconsciously retract the eyelids and their pupils may even dilate. If you see this happen, you can be sure that players has a strong hand.

? The Repeat: There are verbal tells just that are just as valuable as physical tells. For instance, if you ask a player 'Did you hit your three of a kind?' and they repeat the question back to you, as in 'You think I hit three of a kind?' the answer is almost always yes. This fishing for information can be very useful if you do it correctly and know what to look for. If someone repeats your question back to you, this is usually a sign they are trying to avoid lying, and thus have a good hand.

? The Dejected Sigh: You've probably seen this a hundred times, and may have even done it yourself. As soon as a player looks at their cards or sees the flop, they almost immediately say something like 'Dammit,' or sigh in frustration. This is their attempt to try to convince you they are weak. But remember what we said earlier? Someone who is projecting weakness is usually strong, and when you see someone try so blatantly to project weakness, they are strong.

? The Look Away: When the flop comes and a player quickly looks away, this is a clear sign the cards have hit them with something good. For example, if a pair of 7's comes off on the flop and you see a player look down at their chips or quickly turn their attention to another player, that person probably has hit their set of 7's. In this situation, you'll often see these players check the bet and wait for someone else to put some money in the pot. At that time, don't be surprised if you see a big check-raise from the person who was so quick to look away from the flop.

When you enjoy playing Poker or are learning how to master the game, not only do you have to have a very good mathematical understanding of the value of each hand you have been dealt out, you also need to be aware that your fellow opponents will be watching you very closely as you play each hand dealt out to you.

There is often a unique set of skills many Poker players need to adopt to ensure that they do not give away any “tells” when playing Poker.

A tell is a body movement or some form of facial expression that can give more experienced poker players, who are closely watching you, an idea of whether you do in fact have a very strong Poker hand or are trying to bluff them with a low valued hand!

Below is a complete overview of the top 10 Poker player tells. Make sure that when you are next practising your Poker playing skills at home you put in front of you a mirror and watch how you play each hand, it may often surprise a novice player just how much information they can give away via body movements of facial expressions!

Body Language Poker Tells Best

1. Playing with Jewellery – You really do need to look out for the players who are playing with a ring or necklace that they are wearing. Also you need to be alert to the fact that when you have a strong Poker hand you may find yourself suddenly rubbing your ring or fingering a necklace you are wearing.

   Playing with any type of jewellery they are wearing is one of the most basic give away tells a player can perform at a Poker table, so always be on the lookout for this tell and try and not wear any type of jewellery if you have noticed you start to play with it when playing Poker!

2. Nervous Laugh – A fake of nervous laugh when a player is interacting with other players is usually a giveaway that something is not right with that player’s hand. The social nature of Poker is one where interaction, humour and Mickey taking of other players is to be expected, however an obvious tell is one whereby a player is unusually nervous or suddenly changes their mannerisms. So always be alert to these changes in a player you are playing against!
3. Impatience – You often need the patience of a saint when sat around a Poker table. Poker players are never in a rush to take their turn and as such any player who seems impatient or very eager to play their hand is usually a player with a very strong hand. The impatience of a Poker player can often be that player’s downfall, so always be aware of such a player and monitor the hands they are playing when showing any kind of impatience at the Poker table!
4. Counting Up Chips – Going all in with your chips is often an indicator that you think you have the hand required to win the pot on any round of Poker you are involved in. However some Poker players will try and intimidate another player into thinking they have a very strong Poker hand by looking at that opponents chip stack and then counting up their chips, as if they intend to go all in on their next turn!
5. Staring at Other Players – Gawping at another player with a blank facial expression is often very off-putting for the other player, so if you notice one player is indeed looking at you, then be aware they may be trying to intimidate you and give you the impression their hand is much stronger than it actually is!
6. Getting Angry – One very obvious Poker player tell you may come across of even suffer from is becoming angry. When a player has been folding their hand repeatedly and finally gets a playable hand they will become angry if several players on the trot fold their hand, and this will often give those players left in that game an indication that you have finally being dealt a strong hand and those players may also opt to fold their hands!
7. Twitching – Any type of nervous twitch is going to be jumped upon and noticed by other more experienced poker players. So if you twitch your nose or any other body part you will have to control that twitch or you are likely to give away your playing strategy and will always be at the mercy of those more experienced Poker players!
8. Looking Away from Other Players – When a novice Poker players knows they will not be able to control their facial expressions when they have a strong hand or they are bluffing, they tend to look into space and will never make eye contact with other players, and this is an obvious tell for more experienced players sat around the table!
9. Trying to be Funny – One of the more obvious tells which to an inexperienced play can often go unnoticed, is when a player is trying to be funny or is teasing another player. Distracting any Poker player when they are deciding how to play there hand is often a vital part of bluffing or playing a strong hand, so always be on the lookout for a player who suddenly cracks a witty one liner or starts to tease one or more players sat around the Poker table you are playing at!
10. Obscure Ramblings – You will often find lots of light hearted banter between players sat around a Poker table, however if one player starts rambling on about something unusual that is often a tell that they are trying to distract other players and not alert them to the way they are playing or just what type of hand they are holding!