Texas Hold'em Poker: How to Read Physical Tells

This is the second installment of Texas Hold'em How To Read People Like A Book. As I have previously mentioned a Tell is a sign of any sort, verbal, physical, or psychological which gives you information about another player's poker hand. I have discussed psychological tells. Now I will get into the much broader topic of physical tells.

First let me tell you some of the easy ones. If a person's hands are shaking you can be very sure that he has a very good starting hand. The adrenaline has hit the fan and his hands shake, pulse rate increases, eyes dilate. On the first two cards he either has Aces or Kings. If the hands shake when the flop comes down, he has drawn at the very least a high set (three of a kind) or more likely has already pulled a straight of a flush on the flop, would you believe if a pair falls he likely has four of a kind. It is a great hand to get out early on unless you too have pulled a powerhouse which you believe can win.

As I have said the eyes are very important in poker and you should never wear dark glasses because you won't see as well with them and you want to see as well as possible. Even the act of putting on the glasses can tell a good poker player more about your hand than your eyes ever could. You are almost surely bluffing or semi-bluffing when you put the shades on. If you have a great hand, set a trap for this bluffer or re-raise. I prefer the later because if you get raised back on a re-raise, he may have been acting like he was bluffing but wasn't. This may be a great point to leave the hand unless you have The Nuts. You will make a fortune on this hand if you do because your opponent is most likely pot committed.

Here is a great physical tell. If an ace falls on the flop, watch your opponents. A 4 looks a lot like an Ace and most people will look at their hole cards again to make sure they have the high pair. If so, don't call with either a lesser pair or even a low kicker with an Ace. There is no payoff for a second place hand.

Another common physical tell is posture. If someone lies back in his seat he likely doesn't have a great hand and will fold. If someone leans forward into the table, they probably have a drawing hand. If they sit up straight to slightly forward they have a good hand or at least they think they do.

If a player takes a long time to call a bet or raises, they most likely have a very good hand and are trying a Hollywood move to make you bet in order to increase their winnings. They want to give you the impression they are weak. They may also take a long time and fold. If they do this, case closed, otherwise proceed with caution.

Watch where a player puts his chips on the hold cards. Some people put it exactly in the middle if they are protective of a good hand but a little off center on a hand they will probably fold. Also some people will not put chips on a hand they will fold because they are just plain lazy. This is great information and helps in effect to put you closer to the button than you actually are since you can tell they will fold in turn.

So how did I know this? How can you spot a physical tells? The answer is to watch your opponents closely for consistent moves which give away their hands. Make notes in a small note book. You are allowed to do this at a table. Observation is everything. When I started playing poker I would stroke my mustache when I had a so/so hand. It was the same as if I scratched my head, rubbed my chin, or looked like I was zoned out in thought. All these actions tell your opponents you are really thinking about your hand and would probably drop on a big bet. I am still thankful to the friend who told me about my mustache stroking tell. Look for these things but make sure you don't do them yourself.

Of course there are many more physical tells but you get the idea. The expression 'he looks but he does not see' is a good one to remember. You must look and see. Also record these insights in your mind or in a little notebook. You can make good money playing poker but you have to work at it.

The final article will be about verbal tells. These are the most interesting of all because you can initiate it giving you a great advantage.