How Important are Tells in Poker: Body Language (part 3 of 4)

Perhaps the trickiest of the ‘tell’ categories for players to make use of is reading, and interpreting, another player’s body language. The problem players have is that reading body language is more of an art than a science, and will prove a very difficult task for even the most skilled expert.

The best way for a poker player (unless you were once a police detective) to utilize body language tells is to keep it simple, look for the blatant clues, and leave the subtle cues to the experts. If a player never talks, barely moves, and plays like a statue, don’t waste your time trying to pick up body language clues: there are plenty of other players sitting at the table that are broadcasting all sorts of clues about their hand.

Dilating pupils, throbbing veins in the head, the slightest posture change: If you are focusing on these things you are missing real information, and probably staring so long and hard at the other player you’re likely to get arrested for stalking or harassment!

So, what should you be looking for? In one word, changes; dramatic changes in the way a player behaves tell you something is going on in their mind. If a disinterested player suddenly becomes very interested in what the other players are doing he probably picked up a big hand. If a player’s posture goes from rigid and stiff, to relaxed -or vice versa-than they are either confident or nervous.

Most body language tells will be exhibited by recreational players; they do not play often enough, or think enough about the game on a high enough level, to attempt to suppress or fake, these tells: And when they do it is generally easy to see through their ploy. Seasoned players have the ability to cover up these tells, and some will even give off ‘reverse tells’ -where they purposely act in one way, knowing you are watching for a body language clue.

There are a few body language clues that are almost absolutes in the poker world, especially from recreational players:

• Shaking hands. Shaking hands is not the sign of nervousness, it’s the sign of built up anxiety suddenly being released, and almost without exception means a monster hand.
• A disinterested look after betting is almost always the sign of a big hand. Remember, strong means weak; weak means strong.
• Relaxed posture after a bet is also a sign of a big hand.
• A stare down often means a bluff: A player looking for a call would not openly challenge you in this way.

People who are decent players, but play sporadically, are able to throw off reverse tells, but because of their infrequent play they often have a hard time being overly convincing. And then there are the seasoned players, who will often give off reverse tells -some use them to the point that they become predictable, and as easily exploited as if they had the actual tell they are faking!

Just remember, when it comes to body language tells look for dramatic changes, and try to see some evidence of what that change means for a particular player.