The Most Obvious Poker Tells, Table Game Version (Pt. 1)

This is the first installment of poker tells at a table game. I have also written about tells during online games, and you'll be able to perceive just how different the environment really is.

At a table game, everything is out there for you to take. Anything a player does can be viewed and analyzed to get information for that particular hand, for the next hand, and for the rest of the time playing with that person. This is why many players wear glasses, or other forms of "tell deflectors", items attempting to block other players' ability to get a tell.

Now let's get started. Here are the first two more obvious tells to look for at a table game.

1. Difference in Actions After Big Bets/All-ins

By this, I mean keep an eye on how a player reacts during a big money hand or when he/she moves all-in. Even though they might have just put the pressure on someone else, the information the may be giving away while waiting for a call or fold can be priceless. Some poker veterans make sure that they perform in the exact same manner regardless of pot conditions. For instance, he/she could raise double the blind, and go through the same motions they would if they pushed all-in for 20 times the blind.

Inexperienced players like to wear their bluff on their shoulders. If you notice a big bet by 'Mike' and he becomes stone-cold while waiting for a call/fold, but then later goes all-in and starts chatting it up with the others around…there's something to be said about that.

I've noticed that the first action, staying still and focused, normally shows the player is not bluffing. That can be analyzed as a person knowing they have a good hand, and not wanting the other player to see them relaxed. The initiator would want the other player thinking that the all-in was a nervous one, when in fact it's just the opposite.

The same goes for when a player starts getting in conversations almost purposely after making a nice sized bet. These players look to give away that they're so relaxed.

2. Listen to the Chips Talk

This has nothing to do with chip tricks or stack size, it is about how people use their chips as a decoy. This tell is very simple to find, extremely obvious, and never ceases to amaze me how many people do it.

This is performed when your opponent is to act. It can happen regardless of when you are against the button, whether or not you bet out or checked, etc. If the player takes some or all of their chips, depending on how much they have, and start counting out just like they would when they bet, but then throw down their index finger on the table…BET! Normally the player looks more focused on their counting this time around, and they rarely do it to gain information off of you, which is the only way that movement makes sense.

I could understand feeling out a player by counting chips and looking to see if the person you're betting out against is getting concerned or agitated. But a lot of players who go through this motion have their head down the whole time, making it even more noticeable and breakable.

Good luck!