Finding The Tell and Hiding Your Own

Finding another player's tell is like being able to see their cards every hand and means you are guaranteed victory even if you have terrible hands. The tell is a habit or twitch or anything that a player does when they have a particular hand. To find the tell you will have to make sure you see their final hand and play close attention to their every movement. Seeing their hand may cost you a few chips but if you find the tell it is worth it.

Moreover, it is best to try and find the tell at the beginning of the game when the blinds are still low and players are unlikely to make as large raises and very unlikely to go all in. If you leave it too late you could end up paying too high a price as the blinds increase and players generally get more aggressive.

Finding the tell is particularly easy and effective against novices who do not play regularly and are happy when they have a good hand and sad when they have a bad one. Yes it really is that simple in some cases. If you are playing an experienced player beware of using the tell solely.

Hiding Your Own Tell

You are probably thinking if you can find their tell then surely they can find yours and that is the case. However, there are simple techniques to avoid people finding your tell.

#1- Aggression

One effective technique is too not bet too aggressively and only really stay in if you think you have a good chance of the winning the hand. If you adopt this tactic early on you won't win many chips but you won't lose any, leaving you in a good position for the later stages of the game. By folding unless you have a good chance of winning other players do not get too see your hands. In addition, I have found that if you are not winning many hands then people tend not to focus on you, so even if you have a tell they are not looking for it.

#2- Time

Taking your time on every hand is a good way of a disguising your tell. I recommend at least 15 seconds even if you are going to fold. Taking the same amount of time on each hand means there is no distinction between a good hand and a bad hand.

#3- Expressions

If you treat each hand the same way and try to show the same boring facial expressions then people will not pay attention to you. The same facial expression means there is no distinction between when you have a winning hand or a shockingly bad hand. Acting boring means people will not focus on you and you can quietly observe the other players.




Using Your Tell

Advanced players are capable are making up a tell that other players can pick up on. By making up a tell other players will think they know how good your hand is lulling them into a false sense of insecurity. If you have a tell when you have a good hand and then go all in without showing the tell then the other players are likely to call thinking they have you worked out when actually you will be on your way to being the new chip leader.

This is a difficult technique to master and can go disastrously wrong. I strongly recommend having a tell in mind rather than making one up on the spur of the moment as it is unlikely to be convincing and differently not work. If done properly and maintained throughout the whole game until the crucial hand then you will win every time.

Be lucky!!

Chris