How do you figure out the hand of your opponent? Look
closely and you will notice twitches that reveal the strength
of his hand. These twitches are called poker tells. And
players are having a field day talking about poker tells in
their blogs.
Poker tells exist both in the live games and in the online
games. If you want to beef up your poker strategy, you will
surely be interested in learning the common poker tells.
In a physical card room or in a casino, you will notice a
poor player putting a hand over his mouth. Why? Because he is
trying to conceal a smile (not a yawn). You can be sure that
just as the sun rises in east, he is holding a strong hand.
Another physical twitch is when the player reaches for a
drink: his mouth is dry because he is nervous. A nervous
player is relatively easy to lead.
If an opponent is trying to stare you down, he is trying to
intimidate you. What is the reason behind this? Most likely,
he is bluffing. If you have a strong hand, call. If you have a
great hand and want more action, raise.
Observe the eyes of your opponent when the flop comes. If
he takes a quick look at his chips, he probably has a strong
hand. He is thinking of how much he will bet and win.
When you play online, will knowing poker tells be useful?
Of course. Poker tells will differ slightly from player to
player, but your online opponents are still humans. What you
need to observe closely is the time or duration that an
opponent spends during his turn or chance to bet.
In a limit game, when two flush or straight cards are out,
and one of the players makes a quick call, this usually means
a draw. On the flop, however, when one player makes an
instantaneous raise, you can assume that he has a top pair.
When one of your opponents that you consider a poor player
is taking time to think, he is actually debating whether to
call or fold. This means that his hand is weak. Now if he took
time (but not too long) to think and then raise, you can be
sure that he is not bluffing. Poor players generally don't
bluff. He was just both nervous and excited and needs to calm
himself enough to use the mouse.
If one of your online opponents raises frequently at the
pre-flop and then folds at the flop when another player bets
at him, this particular opponent is a tilting player. Tilting
players are also relatively easy to read.
Win big with your newfound knowledge. |
