Texas Hold'em - How to Read Vocal Poker Tells

This is the third 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 tells you information about another player's poker hand. I have described physical and psychological tells. Now I will get into the much more interesting topic of verbal tells. This is the most interesting of the tells for the following reasons. First, it is the only tell which you can evoke from other players. Second, it is very reliable although the hardest to master. Third, it is a tell which others can use on you so you must understand them to master your own control of your tells.

First let me tell you about the one person I have played with that has mastered his own tells, and can read all of yours. His name is Doyle Brunson, in my opinion the greatest poker player for the longest time ever. I have played against him on a final table in a moderate sized tournament. I have seen him play in numerous tournaments. He is a master reader of tells, yet I have yet to see one of his. He has mastered the art of being able to talk at a table either with a great hand or a bare naked bluff and not give it away. I have not seen other great players be able to do this. Some remain virtually silent always and since they do you can not get a verbal fix on them. Phil Ivey is this type of player. Others talk but usually when they are trying to get a verbal fix on you. Daniel Negreanu falls into this category. Neither of these types of players, especially of such high caliber will spill the beans to you.

That being said lets concentrate on average to fairly good players. Of the 4,000 entrants to the World Series Of Poker, about 3,500 fall in this category. There is some money to be made by verbal tells since most people who plunk down the $10,000 entry fee to the WSOP are generally not novices to begin with.

The first verbal tell is when a person says he has a bad hand. Sometimes they just cuss to themselves, but loud enough for you to hear. Some just say dang, damn, crap, etc. What they are really saying is I have Ace King, or I have Jacks. When caught at the end they say I hate AK or Jacks as the reason they made a discouraging remark. They might actually have a bad hand but then they would fold not call or raise. You can make sure of their hand by asking them 'did you really get a bad hand or are you practicing to be a drama king/queen?' If they answer 'I hate these cards' or something equivalent then they really have a good set of starters. Get out unless you have a great hand yourself such as AA or KK or AK. Even then I have heard people cuss at AA and use the lame excuse that pocket Aces never really win on the river when they are pulling in all their winnings.

The second verbal tell is when they tell you they have winners on the first two. If they did they would be very quiet hoping to maximize their winnings. What they are really saying is that they have a mediocre hand and are hoping to improve on the flop but intend to try a bluff when it comes their turn to bet. After all poker is a game of deception. People say this often with a hand like 66. If you have a significant over pair like JJ or better or AK, AQ, AJ or A10 suited or not, call in poor position and re-raise significantly in superior position. Most likely they will go out. If not see what the flop brings and play accordingly to your position and whether you have improved or not.

Here is the biggest tip in tells. A person trying to bluff does not want to get involved with small talk. He knows he is vulnerable to vocal tells. So if you ask them if they like the weather you will get a terse answer. If they smile and give you a long thoughtful answer they are not bluffing. They are confident and not worried. Just don't try this on Doyle Brunson. You will get a smile, weather report and be beaten one way or the other.

I hope these articles on poker tells are useful to you. It take a lot of practice, careful observation and discipline to become a good poker player. Do not bet over you head, bet with your head. Good luck!