This is a discussion on Body language within the online poker forums, in the General Poker section; I was in AC today and limped in from the small blind with 3's with 5 or 6 other people. Of course, body language is completely out of the equation during online poker. If you play primarily on a computer, you can probably skip this story — it won’t really matter in your results. If you do intend to play live poker, though, being well-versed in body language will get you tremendous results. Body Language Of Poker tells ii. Sharing a hand iii. Shuffling a hand iv. Double checking vi. Fearlesness vii. Glancing at chips viii. Sudden interest ix. Tough decisions x. Instant reaction xi. Protecting a hand 6. +Mike Caro - Caros Book of Poker Tells Caro's Book of Poker Tells is based on the psychology and body language of. Listen to the body language of your opponent. These subconscious movements may suggest you the best possible move you can make in the game. For instance, you saw one of your opponents begun sweating while looking down on his or her stacks. This may indicate that the player is bluffing.

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

Poker Table 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.

Tips On Playing Poker

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.

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.

Often when a new player starts to learn about this fascinating game that is poker, they become bogged down in the technical and strategic parts. And this is needed, of course.

You need to understand the game inside out if you hope to become a great player. But one of the most overlooked parts of the game (and quite frankly hardest to learn) is the psychological aspects.

Live poker tells such as reading people’s reactions, body language, and subconscious signals can give you the edge against many opponents. And equally, knowing how to manipulate these psychological tendencies can help you throw your opponents off if you feel yourself playing in a predictable manner.

With all this in mind, I’ve decided to write down a few tips to help you learn the psychological side of the game, more specifically, what common poker tells are telling you.

Some of this may seem basic, some may seem extraordinary, but all of it will help your game.

Guide: Poker Tells to make the most when playing Poker

Contents

1. The first obvious poker tell is someone staring down the other players. Why is this a tell? Well, if he or she is staring you down, they are most likely trying to show strength. But if the hand really was strong, most people wouldn’t make it so obvious. The player may have something, but you will probably be able to beat it. Obviously this isn’t an exact science – experience is needed.
2. The next tell is jittering and fidgeting, which sometimes isn’t so obvious. This poker tell is usually not an act. It’s usually a sign of impatience. So what does this mean? It probably means the player betting has a weak hand or is bluffing, and therefore, does not want the call. If a player has a big hand he will usually stay relaxed when pending a call. Here’s a really important tip: If you’re not sure about calling or folding, reach towards the chips to see what his reaction is. If he stops fidgeting (this includes things like drumming the fingers, as well) then you should call. If the action doesn’t stop, you should fold, as he probably has a strong hand.
3. The next tell I will talk about is shaking hands. Firstly, this tell is hardly ever an act. Why? Because most players won’t try to “act” nervous, and genuine hand shaking isn’t an easy thing to fake. So what does this tell mean? Well usually, hand shaking happens in connection with your opponent having a very strong hand. The reason his hands shake is that it’s a subconscious release of tension due to the suspense of what’s about to happen next. Depending on the circumstances, some players are nearly always nervous, however. So don’t mistake the two types of hand shaking. If your opponent hasn’t been shaking, and then all of a sudden he is, then you can be fairly confident that he or she has a very strong hand. Similarly, you want to observe if there is shaking legs. Although not talked about nearly as much, when a player’s legs are shaking, it’s no different to the body as a whole. They tense up when they’re not comfortable but if they’re moving or shaking then the player is more excited and probably feeling good about his hand.
4. Another common tell is changes in breathing. This is rarely an act either. If you can tell your opponent has changed his breathing (either by hearing, or seeing his diaphragm move faster) then you will be able to read this tell. What does it mean? If your opponent is breathing faster, he may have become slightly more excited due to having a strong hand. If a player is bluffing he may try to hide the change of breathing by consciously breathing slower, or even holding their breath.

2 Videos here explains bit more about Tells:

1)
2)

A big part of poker tells is gathering information to know the strength of your opponent’s hand. If a poker tell suggests they’re strong or weak, it allows you to play perfect poker against them, assuming your reads are correct. If you expect them to have a strong hand you’d never consider bluffing them or bluff catching, and on the flip side, if you think the player has a weak hand, you’d be more inclined to bluff them or call their bluffs.

When you are controlling the betting in a hand, it’s hugely advantageous to identify the strength of your opponent’s hands when they call, especially on draw heavy boards with many potential draws. The first common tells players give when they have a drawing hand, is when they may be checking hole cards after a flop. When the flop is showing signs of giving one of the players a flush or straight draw, keep an eye out for people who are re-check their hole cards. They are most likely checking to see if they have a piece of it. Your opponent probably doesn’t have the flush or straight just yet. How do I know this? Well, most players wouldn’t need to check if they had it already. They are checking to see if they can draw it.

Reddit Poker Body Language

Other Poker Tells:

Poker Player Body Language

The other drawing poker tell is when a player is taking a while before calling his bet. If he seems to be doing some sort of calculation, he probably is. What’s he doing? He’s probably trying to work out the pot odds to see if it’s worth it to risk getting the cards he needs to complete the drawing hand.

I know this stuff is fairly basic for most people, and when you’re judging these tells, be aware of the skill level of the players you’re up against. If they are beginners then you can feel free to make decisions based on these sort of tells, because they’re too inexperienced to try being deceptive. But if the players you’re up against have some experience, be very wary, since accomplished players will often give you false tells like this, to throw you off completely.

As always, you need to use your own experience to guide you, and judge wisely.