The rise of online poker sometimes makes us forget one of the aspects of live poker that has been overlooked in recent years: tells. We talk about tells when referring to gestures or actions that reveal the strength of the hand a player might have. But you don’t need to be facing a bet on the river for tells to appear. Below, we will analyze five common tells you might be giving without even playing a hand.
1. Hesitation when folding
Something very noticeable in inexperienced players is the amount of hesitation they show when folding. Experienced poker players discard their bad hands naturally, knowing that part of the game is choosing the right spots. In contrast, novice players imagine any hand could become a winner with a bit of luck and need to think a little before deciding to fold.
Obviously, taking extra time to think about a sufficiently complex spot is normal. But inexperienced players hesitate on the most routine folds. Another notable trait is that many of them need to look at their cards more than once or twice before making a decision, which is another clear sign of inexperience.
2. Complicated chip tricks
Just as the first tell might indicate inexperienced players, this second case points to players who have clearly spent a lot of time at the tables. If you’re in a game where you don’t know any players, but you see that one starts doing quite complex chip tricks, you can guess they have been at poker tables long enough to care about learning them.
This is usually not a problem in tournaments where you encounter all kinds of players, but if you’re in a private game trying to appear as just a simple guy who’s there to have fun, these kinds of tricks could give you away as a grinder and make recreational players more cautious when facing you.
The best is to stick with the old trick of mixing the two small stacks of chips.
3. Throwing cards with disdain
If you’ve been going almost an hour without hitting cards and start folding them with a bad attitude, everyone will notice what’s happening to you. You’re announcing to the table that you’re running bad and frustrated. A quick player could take advantage of this.
It’s normal for a new player to have this kind of attitude because they’re not used to it, as experienced grinders know the game dynamics and understand it’s completely possible to go a good while without playing. Also, that frustration also provides information about how you will play the hands you get. You’ll probably try to force action out of boredom, playing aggressively with hands that aren’t worth it, but the fear of not hitting again makes you want to win immediately to make up for those dead hours.
If someone shows impatience, pay attention. They’re likely about to force some action instead of waiting for a good spot.
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4. Commenting on flops after folding
Another common mistake in new players is getting obsessed with the board cards after having folded. For example, a player folds 9 3 and the flop comes 9 9 3, so the player starts showing annoyance and wondering why they didn’t get into that pot.
This tells us about a result-oriented poker player, who understands poker based on results and not on the decisions made. An experienced player knows they folded because it was the best possible decision and barely pays attention to whether they would have connected with the board or not.
A player affected by the cards that come after folding might start widening their range out of fear of going through the same situation again.
5. Blaming the dealer
If a player blames the dealer for having a bad hand, they’re giving us information that they feel a neutral agent like the dealer can actually influence the game. This already tells us about a wrong mindset, more like a gambler who doesn’t focus on the truly determining factors.
This gives us information that we are facing a casual player, which doesn’t mean they’re bad at playing, but it can help us identify who has a more emotional than analytical relationship with the game. Perhaps these are the players more willing to pay us off when we have the nuts, as their emotionality might prevent them from folding a moderately strong hand.
Finally, pay attention to what happens at the table between hands. Not all information is based on ranges and bet sizes. In the conversations and gestures that occur between hands, there is a lot of information available that can later help us in the game.
Also, remember that other players are also watching you to gather information about you. Avoid giving unnecessary tells about yourself.
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