Poker Body Language
An important part of playing live poker has to do with figuring out what your opponents’ body language means. These indicators are called “tells” and refer to involuntary physical movements that give us a clue about the cards that may be in our opponents’ hands.
Before we get into a list of the top three poker tells, body language means different things for different people. That means that a physical tell that tells us one thing for one player could mean something completely different for another player. We have to develop a context for the player over time, contrasting how the player normally acts with the deviations. The deviations are the tells.
Overall, though, there are several tells that you can find helpful, so let’s look at the top four.
The eyes
In the world of poker tells, body language starts with the eyes – but that is also true in a number of areas of life. You can learn a lot from reading an opponent’s eyes, which is why so many players put on sunglasses to play poker.
There are a few body language clues that are almost absolutes in the poker world, especially from recreational players: Shaking hands. Shaking hands is not the sign of nervousness, it’s the sign of built up anxiety suddenly being released, and almost without exception means a monster hand. Does body language and the evidence prove this guy, Mike Postle, is a professional poker cheater? Find out next.Personally, I’m not a big cards player, but w.
Poker Player Body Language
In short, a poker table is much like real world scenarios like class room, office, college, etc. When a player at a poker table gives away body language information, it is called a tell. So reading a player for tells is crucial for poker player’s game. Below is the order in which I read people at a poker table: 1. Feet and Legs (Most reliable) 2. BODY LANGUAGE Quite a few players' posture betrays the nature of their cards. An unconscious change in their sitting position, such as leaning forward, likely indicates a strong hand. With a weak hand they often show less body tension, for example, having hanging shoulders. Buy the selected items together. This item: Caro's Book of Poker Tells: The Psychology and Body Language of Poker by Mike Caro Paperback $20.36. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How To Think Like One by David Sklansky Paperback $22.43.
If the eyes dilate, that often suggests fear, or another strong emotion. You don’t know yet whether that fear means that the opponent has a fairly strong hand and does not know what to do about it or is considering mounting a bluff. You will need to play a few hands with that opponent to figure out what those eye movements mean.
A shift in the direction of your opponent’s gaze can also be important. Let’s see your opponent quickly looks at your stack after viewing the turn card. He might have caught big and now wants to find out if you can cover him. What is he hasn’t looked at his hole cards for the entire hand, even though he usually does? That could be important, so watch the outcome.
The mouth
Some players believe that you can learn even more from an opponent’s mouth than you can from his eyes. Take a look at his lips. Among poker tells, body language that can be helpful involves nervous lips – they look pinched and thin. When a person is relaxed, his lips look round and full. Over the course of your game, try and figure out what your opponent’s lip movements mean. Also, look for twitches of the lips. Once you find them, watch and see how the hand turns out.
The voice
Compare your opponent’s voice to how it sounded before you started, when everyone was relaxed. Changes in tone and speed can mean a lot in terms of emotional energy. Even the decision to start a conversation can mean something. When it comes to poker tells, body language that involves table talk that starts after a bunch of silent hands can mean something. Also, movements such as moving chips around, tapping on the table and other forms of fidgeting can be meaningful too. As the game goes on, you can learn a lot about each opponent.
Try out online poker at National League of Poker. Start your own private poker game and play with friends on this platform! Turn on your video chat and read each other’s tells.
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Body language is one of the two ways that you are going to
pick up on the majority of tells in live poker. You can learn a
lot from hearing someone talk, but many players won’t talk much
if at all when they are in a hand. Because of this you need to
learn how to gain information from other, more subtle clues that
are available.
Unlike talking, body language is much more
difficult to provoke. You’ll undoubtedly get someone to
shift around when speaking to them, but you can’t read directly
into these actions in the same way that you would with something
spoken. Body language is the type of thing that you’ll get
infinitely better at reading as time goes on. This could be said
about most any skill in poker, but picking up on tells is truly
something that requires actual game play experience to learn and
improve upon.
Body language comes, to me, in two different varieties. First
there are the standard actions that occur well before a hand
gets overly involved. This would include pre-flop play and the
first street or post-flop action. The next type of body
language is demonstrated when someone is involved in a more
significant pot. A player might place a river all in bet or be
facing a decision when they start to really squirm around. Of
course, if they are acting last, their body language is
irrelevant to the outcome of a hand. If, however, you are
deciding whether to call a player’s bet, you can make an
educated guess based largely on how they are acting. Using these
two defined types of body language, we are going to take a
closer look at what you should be keeping an eye out for.
Pre-Flop, Basic Body Language
Pre-flop body language is generally going to be tame and even
mundane, but it can come into play later on in a hand. If you
think that a player is acting particularly strong pre-flop, you
could factor this into your decision making if there’s a bet on
the flop, turn or river. Your goal as a player is to always be
piecing together the most believable story. If a player seemed
passive or weak pre-flop but is now trying to pretend like they
have a big pocket pair, you should be able to pick up on this
sort of irregularity.
Players who tense up and start looking onto the action with a
very intent demeanor should worry you the most. This is often
times a tell that a player is strong and is ready to get down to
business. When this same player has a smaller hand, they are
more inclined to play passively and/or without as much
intensity. If you think about it, there’s a good chance that
you are doing the same exact thing.
An example of a player who is very interested in their hand
will be someone who has their eyes darting from player to player
while they remain quiet. This same player will also make sure
their cards are in a safe place and may even place a card
protector on them. Another way to spot weakness is when a player
looks nervous but is actually trying to act as if they are very
calm. A reverse tell is huge in poker. Players will only be able
to hide their actual feelings to a certain extent. If someone
seems like they are ready to explode with pent up anxiety and
are
trying to shuffle their chips anyway, be careful when you get
involved with them.
The obvious body language moves are also the most common. For
example, players with small hands will usually toss their chips
into the pot playfully. They won’t take the time to count out
chips neatly and precisely because deep down they aren’t overly
concerned with the pot at hand. A player who seems generally
disinterested will usually be just as disinterested as they
seem. For the most part, body language in pre-flop play will
coordinate with the types of hand strengths that you would
expect. It isn’t until post-flop play that most players start to
really hide their true emotions.
Post-Flop, Intense Body Language
Post-flop is when the bigger amounts of money tend to get
involved. Players don’t want to give away any valuable
information and will be making every effort possible to ensure
that their hand strength is kept as secretive as possible.
Though some players have come close to mastering the art of
deception through body language, the majority of your opponents
will end up giving away a few tells that can be used to your
advantage.
The player who sits back in their chair after making a big
bet isn’t someone you should take lightly. While sometimes this
player is in fact weak, they are usually making a big bet and
trying to act as nonchalant as possible. They will often times
cross their arms and make it seem like they are just waiting for
you to call so that they can muck. If a player is putting this
much effort into trying to appear as if he is relaxed, you can
make a safe guess that he is really on pins and needles hoping
you call. This is one way that players try to keep their
emotions at bay whilst giving off vibes of weakness despite
actually being strong.
As a rule of thumb, a player who is putting forth an obvious
effort to appear strong isn’t necessarily strong. Think about
it, what kind of player would want everyone else at the table to
have an idea of just how valuable their hand is? Players who act
like they have a big hand do so because they need to convince
their opponents that they are beat. They figure, and sometimes
rightfully so, that an aggressive and intimidating image will be
enough to force a fold. You need to be able to see past this
façade and determine whether it is at all honest.
Poker Tells And Body Language
In the end, poker is a game of deception and trickery. If you
assume that someone’s outward emotions are true indicators of
how they are feeling, you are likely to get burned time and time
again. Instead, look at what makes sense, see if you can really
get a feeling for where they stand, and put together a
believable story. If everything adds up, chances are that you
are on the right path.