Before considering cheating, did you ever think about learning to spot if your opponents cheat? Or maybe just master a few basics from the exciting art of Poker Tells which means knowing how to read the other players reactions. Poker tells can actually be more beneficial than cheating. It’s almost impossible to keep a true Poker Face and even if some players are able to conceal feelings and emotions, a lot of them forget that the body language matters as well.
So when you get the cards, hold your horses and try to look at the other players instead. Your cards will be there later on, but some expressions and body language will be gone in a second. The following tips are probably some of the best tips out there, so next time that you sit in that poker table, look for the next clues:
- Mostly amongst amateur players, the first and most obvious tell is the reversed tell. When an opponent plays strong, most chances are that he is weak. When your opponent plays weak – most chances he’s got a pretty strong hand.
- Now take a look at the players around you. What they wear? Who they’re with? How they keep their cards and chips. Generally, a loose player will also appear loose, messy, have his chips all over and a tight player will have his chips stand like an army platoon.
- It doesn’t sound reasonable but in poker, people are shaking because they are excited and not because they are afraid. So if you see a player’s hand shaking, you can bet he’s got a good one.
- Notice that when players immediately look away from their cards, they often try to hide a good hand. And walk away if you see them stare at their chips --Believe us, they are thinking about big money.
Now that you know the basic poker tells, you should also learn about hiding your poker tells:
- Practice a repeating routine and act the exact same way throughout the game.
- Don’t speak. Unless you order a scotch.
- Reverse and mix the poker tells. Do the exact same opposite than what they expect you, confuse your opponents and then follow the tells one by one.
