Poker Tells

Observing your opponents

A winning poker player will always be observing "tells" from other players who he or she is involved in a game with. Some players elect to disguise there eyes with sunglasses in an attempt to hide poker tells they reveal. Most poker pro's are undecided as to whether it is to a player's advantage to wear sunglasses.

Analyzing your opponent's play allows you to have a better read on the player and will provide you with more information to base your next decision on. These small observations can make the difference between being a winning poker player and a losing player.

A player should always be aware of other player's actions even when they are not active in the pot. Small "tells" can give you huge clues as to what kind of player they are. As a rule of thumb talkative players tend to be looser then other players, whilst players who stack chips in a neat organized manner tend to be tighter.

A poker player should remember that their opponents might be watching them so it is best to "mix up" your plays. You can do this by re-raising bluffs and showing your cards, or even play 3-4 hands back to back after having a tight-aggressive style.

Online tells

With online poker tells are much harder to come across. The speed in which a player makes a move can give you a good clue as to whether they are bluffing or not. Using the handy "note" feature most online poker rooms provide, can be a huge help, as you can categorize players and note there style for when you meet them again.

• Players thinking over their hand are in generally debating to make, or not to make a call.
• When players raise after thinking over, they probably don't bluff and hold a monster.
• Quick automatic checks represent a weak hand most of the times, as players tend to use the auto check/fold option.
• A quick call to your bet can be a chase, or a marginal hand. A big hand would generally re-raise.
• A small raise with a lot of players still left in the pot might represent a monster, but most times it represents a weak hand since odds are given to the others to outdraw.

Hide your tells

While you are busy trying to discover tells of your opponents, it is wisely to keep your own tells hidden and stay unpredictable as much as possible. You could do this by giving yourself exact the same amount of time before making an action.

Observing your opponents

A winning poker player will always be observing and watching their fellow poker players.

Analyzing your opponent's play allows a player insight into what hand their competitors may hold. This allows the observant player to make better decisions, and ultimately win more pots and lose fewer chips.

For inspiration on observation technique rent the classic 1974 Gene Hackman film, The Conversation.

A player should pay attention to other players and their actions even when not involved in the hand.

A player should remember that their opponents might be watching them and so vary their own play occasionally.

With online poker tracking, your slick opponent's every move is just a click away. Most poker sites offer a feature for taking notes, so you can write down every quirk, tell, or pattern that will help you defeat the enemy.