Review of Mike Caro’s Book of Poker Tells

Have you ever been sitting down at a poker table a heard a player call out another player’s hand accurately? It almost feels like you’re watching a magic trick being performed. One player says, “You’re holding a suited 8-10 and I’m not paying off your straight.” And sure enough, their opponent shows a suited 8-10. Are these people poker prodigies? Do they posses paranormal mindreading powers? Or do these players know something the average player doesn’t.

I’m a skeptic by nature, so I opted to believe the latter. I didn’t have to look very far before I found out how these players were pulling off these unbelievable reads. It’s not magic and there’s no extra-sensory perception involved. Everything you need to make frighteningly accurate reads can be found in Mike Caro’s Book of Poker Tells.

Caro’s book has become the definitive guide for reading opponents. This book is 320 pages long with over 170 pictures detailing a seemingly infinite number of poker tells. Caro’s book will teach you how to interpret anything from a subtle glance to an aggressive bet.

One of the most revolutionary ideas that Caro covers in his book is the Law of Loose Wiring. Traditional poker wisdom says that you should watch the way your opponent plays certain hands and how they bet. That information would be highly reliable if people were computers that followed set rules and never varied their play, but people aren’t computers. Good poker players change their play and they try to trick you. They’ll set you up by slow playing a monster one time, then cram the pot with chips the next. The betting patterns of an experienced player can be deceptive. Caro understands this.

Caro calls your poker opponents “volatile beings” and says “you don’t know when they’re going to short out… [or do] the most brilliant things.” In his book, Caro teaches us that betting patterns are only a small piece of evidence you can use to determine a person’s hand. The player’s mannerisms fill in the rest of the puzzle so you can draw accurate conclusions. If you’ve only been playing your cards up until now, the book will elevate your game by teaching you how to play your opponent.

The information Caro presents may seem like subjective observations, but they are based on scientific analysis. There’s a reason Caro is called poker’s “Mad Genius.” All of his observations and recommendations are rooted in mathematical analysis. Caro understands that good poker players profit by exploiting probabilities. The tells in Mike Caro’s Book of Poker Tells will give you more information to help you figure out your odds of winning any given hand.

There’s an old saying in poker that goes, “If you can’t spot the sucker at a poker table─ you’re it.” If you have a hard time spotting the sucker at the poker tables you play, pick up a copy of Mike Caro’s Book of Poker Tells. This is one book that will pay for itself many times over.