The Poker Tell – Understanding Body Language and Bluffs
The Poker Tell – Body Language and Bluffs
No matter how much they might try to hide it, every poker player will have his or her own variety of poker tell. These will be specific to the player and often unique. But having said that, as a poker player, you will come across many tells that are common across many players sat around the casino poker table.
If you are not familiar with the casino game of poker, and your main source of knowledge comes from watching Hollywood movies, then there’s a huge difference between the poker tell and bluff on celluloid and the reality of sitting at a real casino poker table. When you’re going to be playing poker, don’t go basing your poker language on what you have seen in the movies. When you go to casinos to win the jackpot, we suggest you forget the movies, clear your mind, and start from the beginning.
The Poker Tell is Not Clear Cut
The hard truth of the matter is that there is no exact science behind the behaviour of poker players. In particular with regards to the poker tell and bluff. The problem here is that there are several different levels of tells which end up being contradictory and inconsistent. In the vast majority of cases, these little behavioural ticks will not be enough for you to base any moves on. Many studies have been dedicated to the behaviour of players. And the same conclusion has always emerged. The main takeaway is that the modes of behaviour are too inconsistent to be giving an advantage to the regular poker player. Likewise, it doesn’t mean that the player is cheating either.
So this leads to the question; is the poker tell useless? Is knowledge of them, and how to spot them, going to help you play a better game of poker? On the one hand, we wouldn’t say they were totally useless. But on the other hand, we don’t think you should take them for granted. Even if they appear to be obvious. And you certainly shouldn’t rely on them exclusively as your overreaching poker strategy. Here at jackpotfinder.com, we asked some professional poker players to give us some pointers as to their own opinions on the poker tell and their use during gameplay. But we suggest, as a casual player, that you take these jackpot winning tips and tricks with a tiny grain of salt.
Weak Means Strong
This is probably the most common poker tell, and one which tends to be true is trying to disguise something by behaving in the opposite manner. This is a mode of behaviour that seems almost childish. Nevertheless, it appears that most players who have received a strong hand and would prefer to hide the fact from those around them, try their hardest to pretend the opposite. That the hand is weak.
This results in behaviour you might recognise from a small child in kindergarten. And it more often than not manifests in the form of a sour face, shrugging shoulders, and saying and acting a fake unhappy look. The problem with this approach is that everyone knows how it works and trying to conceal something by pretending the exact opposite is not going to function as a means of disguising anything. This is such a common poker tell that everyone knows of it. Unfortunately, a poker tell means nothing if you’re playing online. For the best playing experience, we suggest heading over to our favourite casino. King Billy Casino has a huge welcome bonus of 151% up to €/$500 plus 51 bonus spins waiting for all new players. This will certainly stretch your bankroll much further.
The Poker Tell: Posture
Another common poker tell is that of the players’ posture. On the whole, if a player suddenly sits up then it means they’ve received a card that has given them newfound confidence. In other words, they suddenly have a reason to start paying attention. This often happens instinctively and the player is unaware of the subtle change in their body posture. To this end, it alerts all the players sitting around the table that the player in question is onto something important. And that they should hedge their bets accordingly.
Sudden Silence or Babbling
If you’ve been sitting beside a player who has remained pretty quiet during the course of the previous games of jackpot poker, and yet suddenly becomes quite animated, this is often a sign that they have received a strong hand. This can also happen in reverse. A chatty player who suddenly goes silent often means that they have received some bad cards. Here, in truth, we have spelt this out by oversimplifying it. In reality, the change will often be quite subtle. You’ll need to be watching and listening very carefully for this poker tell.
The Poker Tell: Tone of Voice
You’ll often see the poker face in movies. But in the real casino environment, it’s overrated. This is because many players can hide their faces under a baseball cap and with dark glasses. But one thing they cannot keep from the other players is their tone of voice. When things are going well, you’ll hear the player sounding confident, talking freely and openly. On the other hand, when a player has received a weak hand, they will attempt to show the opposite. As such, they may well sound both insecure and fake. On many occasions when their hands are less than favourable, they may even stop talking altogether, as they have to concentrate on the options a little more carefully.
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Impatience
When you make the decision not to fold after receiving a terrible hand, then there’s a good possibility you will not be in a huge hurry to speed the game up. The idea here is that you’ll be waiting for an indicator as to the game proceeds. Something to let you know whether it’s a good time to fold. Of course, maybe you’re 99% so that there’s the possibility to make some serious money. Then you may try and speed things up in the hope of increasing your jackpot winning chances. In the game of poker, any player who shows that they are losing patience will be an indication to the others involved in the game that they are in a strong position. As such they want to get the hand over quickly so that they can win the pot.
The Poker Tell: Tossing Chips
This mode of behaviour is, once again, about overcompensating. A player who has a particularly weak hand may find themselves compelled to slam or toss her chips into place whilst maintaining a smug look. Conversely, someone with a great hand will display their confidence to other players by placing their chips with care. Any player worth their salt, and with some playing experience, will pick up these bluffs or double bluffs, pretty much instantly.
Involuntary glance
As a player, this is something you’re going to have to keep an eye open for during the course of a game. Though it can happen very quickly, it can also be highly insightful if you are able to spot it. A casual player who receives a strong hand will instinctively glance at their chips. They are subconsciously weighing up their strong possibilities. And making a quick calculation as to how much they might win with their present stake of chips. This single glance, if spotted, tells the other players that someone has been dealt with a strong hand. And they can’t help but start to weigh up their options. If you choose to play poker online, then your bluffs mean nothing. For the best results, we suggest that you learn some basic poker strategies. Then you should play some hands at King Billy Casino. They offer both free-play, so you can practice, as well as live dealer games for the complete poker casino experience.
The Poker Tell: Freezing
On the whole, a player who has placed a bet and then suddenly freezes is probably just bluffing. It’s pretty much a given that if someone is focusing on trying to deceive another person, they find it difficult to multitask at being misleading, and at the same time, remaining relaxed. Once again, this is a form of overcompensation. The player whose bluffing is doing everything he can to hide his intention. For this, he uses a kind of “bluff inception.” This is where he assumes you will pick up his original behaviour. So he tries to hide it behind even more fake actions. You might call this a “double bluff.”
Nevertheless, a seasoned or veteran player can see through this. Simply because they also use the same mode of play to disguise the strength of cards they are holding. It could also be argued that if you have a great hand then you should have confidence. In which case, there’s no need to show a poker tell whatsoever. After all, you’re already in a good position. And likewise, there’s no need to freeze once you’ve placed the bets.
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