Tell Tales

Many people see the reading of opponents by their verbal or non-verbal language as a science. Indeed some of it comes from the world of psychology which taught us how to spot whether someone was lying, or had the hots for us by their body language. I see tells as something which can enhance your game but is unlikely to save it!

Take the story of Herbert O. Yardley in his seminal work, "The Education of a Poker Player". During his early days he is consistently losing to a guy named Monty when suddenly in a nightmare, it comes to him.

"I could see Monty, his face clouded in anger over some argument by the players, yelling 'Deal! Goddammit, deal !'. Then he pounded his right fist on the table. His right fist! That rang a bell. But what bell? Then quickly I knew. Monty was left-handed. When excited he pounded on the table with his right fist. Yes, I must be right. At times-it must have been because of tension-he bet with his right hand. Of course. When he was bluffing, he shifted his cards from the right hand to the left and bet with the right."

Yardley rushes to the game, buys in and waits for his moment, finally calling Monty's bluff. When the incredulous Monty asks him how he knew Yardley replies, "You wiggled your ears."

This story is something like a cartoon version of a tell, one so one-dimensional, so black and white as to be almost unbelievable. But what can we believe? Are there any really good tells which most people make which we can use at the home poker game? Well a lot will depend on the kind of people you play with but I'll try to give a few examples that are good starting points.

One of the ways people will give their hand away is by what they say or don't say. A player who stops a conversation (or singing or whistling) when he sees his hand has just got cards that he likes the look of. By the same token a player who doesn't even miss a breath of his conversation with John about the big football game last night as he looks at his cards has more often than not been dealt rags.

A common verbal tell is the slightly impatient "It's your bet, Jack!" phrase. A player who tries to hurry the game along so the action gets to him is often loaded and ready to raise. He can't wait to take your money so he is telling you to hurry up! Another way players betray their strong hands is by acting like they couldn't care less, with things like, "Oh, I've come this far, might as well." Or "Hmmm, I suppose so." These guys are taking you for a dimwit and are operating on the simplest level of deception- Weak when strong, strong when weak. Watch for it.

Besides these fairly common verbal tells you might be lucky enough to pick up a more individualistic phrase which a player habitually says. I was lucky enough to play in a Hold'em game where every time all the players saw the blinds one guy would often say "full table!" I learned through watching what he showed down on these occasions that he always held premium pocket cards in this situation. I figured he was so confident about his prospects that he'd like to tell the world that all these suckers have come for the ride and I've got them! Made it easy to fold on the flop.

Verbal tells can be quite obvious, if you are listening, but non-verbal tells are often a lot more subtle. I have seen three very common pieces of body language at the poker table that you can almost always count on. Firstly, and this goes with the verbal tells about sounding like you don't really care, is the shrugging bet. When a guy has to call a bet, or even better, cold-call a raise, and he shrugs his shoulders as he puts his chips in, you can bet the baby shoe money that this fellow has a powerhouse.

The second reliable tell in home poker depends a bit on your stakes and how the players feel about them. If you are playing for pennies then this might not be a good one but if your stakes are high enough to make people think then it usually works. When a player bets, calls or raises watch his hand as he picks up and puts down the chips. Is it trembling? A trembling hand is a sign of strength. This bloke has got such a good hand the adrenaline is flowing. He is probably looking very calm in all other respects but the internal struggle between being cool and wanting to jump for joy is causing his hand to shake.

The third and final one is my favourite and I use it all the time with about 70-80% success. I call it the "Bluffer's deep-freeze." Ever been in this situation? You are heads-up with some guy and he is under the gun. He thinks for a moment then makes a pretty good bet, probably your tables limit, then immediately freezes. He just shuts down and stops moving. He sits there staring at the table. Let me tell you now that that guy is bluffing, or at the very best pushing a weak hand too far. You watch him. He might even go as far as to hold his breath! Listen. The idea behind this is that he is scared he will trigger your "calling reflex" as Mike Caro puts it, that any movement or sound from them will encourage you to call. I suppose it must go back to the caveman and freezing when you though you were in danger, which you are if your trying to run a bluff.

So there you are, a quick run-through of what I think are the most useful home poker tells. The important thing about tells is that they only add an extra layer of information to your thought process and need to be taken as a very fluid collection of ideas, not as rules. Players are different from table to table, week to week, so you have got to adapt to the way people are behaving. You'll have to make up your own mind as to the relative value of tells at your game but if you ever sit down with me, remember, I can see your ears wiggle!

Jason Gibbons Cambridge, UK July 2000