Reading your Opponents in Poker

To be able to read your opponent at a table you need to be able to speculate what cards they may have. You need to be looking for ‘tells.’ Tells are the way a person behaves and can bring to light a player’s intentions.

The issue with tells are that they can be hard to spot as a players may display a tell to deceive you, or without even realising and they are also often very quick actions.

Even when you are not taking part in a hand, you need to be on alert and observe the actions of the other players. Look out for things such as the amount a player bets, what their eyes are doing and what is said. Let’s take a deeper look into ‘tells.’

Grabbing chips before placing a bet

If a player grabs for their chips before it’s their turn, it is likely they have a poor hand. It is an indication that the player wants to call your bet, however the player actually just wants to view your cards.

Look for nervous players

Although you may think that nervousness is behaviour of a player with a weak hand or a player that is bluffing, you are probably wrong. Nervousness is a sign of a strong hand. Look at the player’s breathing and whether their hand may be shaking.

Observe how the chips are stacked

It is possible to learn a lot about a player from the way that their chips are stacked. Chips stacked nice and neatly may reveal that the player is tight and tends not to bluff. Messy chips can be a sign of a loose player who enjoys gambling.

Listen carefully

Aside of the usual sounds of clattering chips and general chit chat at a poker table, if you listen well you will hear audio tells such as a sigh or sounds of dissatisfaction. These 'tells' can tell you a great deal.

Observe how players place bets

A fine player will jumble up the way he or she bets in order to throw their opponents off the scent. On the other hand a new player may display extra stress on an action when placing a bet. For example they may flick their fingers after betting, indicating an uncomfortable feeling with the bet as they may be bluffing.

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