An important part of playing live poker has to do with figuring out what your opponents’ body language means. These indicators are called “tells” and refer to involuntary physical movements that give us a clue about the cards.

Poker is the ideal venue for honing your nonverbal observation skills. We all reveal something about ourselves through our body language in business and in life. Keep in mind that it’s the combination of tells that may reveal the most valuable information; one tell alone may not be enough to go on. Here are a few tells to look for: Distance. Salespeople and pickup artists study body language to improve their game. Poker players study tells for the same reason. Call them tells or something else, but all body language. Is cut from the same cloth. Psychologists say women are better natural body language readers than men. 4 – When a Tell Is Not a Tell (Until It Is) Poker player and author Mike Caro discerns between two types of tells in his classic book about it: Tells from actors; Tells from non-actors; In poker, an “actor” is anyone who tries to disguise a weak hand by acting strong and vice-versa. This would be the person who sighs after hitting a set.

To become a pro poker player, you need to master your body language, identify common poker player traits, and learn how to spot tells. Poker tells are common, irrespective of whether you play at a tournament or cash game table.

The professionals know how to hide tells, the amateurs fall into the trap. You may be extremely skilled at the game but if you are using the wrong body language or are not being able to spot tells, you are losing out on a lot of profit.

Remember – Body language is essential for poker players!

Yes, nonverbal science has a role to play in poker. It adds a whole new dimension.

Tells are generally very subtle, yet once you master them, you will be able to pick up cues to judge poker player traits and the opponent’s game. Remember the general rule – in poker, weaknesses mean strength, strengths mean weaknesses. Poker is a sport of deception and players will try to fake a tell. Just keep a constant eye on the player’s moves but make sure they don’t get to know that they are under your observation.

Many popular poker players around the globe have shared tips and guidelines for reading tells. We’ve collected the various inputs and put them together to help you decode the common traits of players and improve your profits in the game.

The glance at the chips – Now, this is something most players do unconsciously. As soon as the cards are dealt, if a player takes a quick look at the chips and then looks away, it means that he/she probably wants to bet. The next unconscious tell is to look at the opponent’s chips.
The glance at the cards – This is one of the common poker player traits of beginners where the player takes a brief look at the cards in hand. For instance, if the flop has 3 cards of clubs and the player takes a glance at the cards, chances that he/she has a flush are low. This is because the suit is usually not noticed in an off-suit hand. If there is a suited hand, they will remember the suit of their cards. Therefore, it is safe to guess that they have at most one card of clubs.
The breathing pattern: How a player breathes is very important. And this is not an intentional tell. If you are close to the player, you will be able to easily monitor the breathing. Shallow breathing or restricted breathing to avoid breathing loudly means that the player has a weak hand.
The truth about nervousness: Nervousness is often decoded as the sign of a weak hand. But a lot of times, nervousness is just an act or imitation. You will see that there is a bit of an exaggeration because, in reality, the player is holding strong cards.
The fake reluctance: If a player is uncertain about the bet or shows reluctance, the player has a strong hand. If they had a weak hand, they would do everything possible to hide this. On signs of such a poker tell, you must fold unless you hold a very strong hand.
The lean back:Most professional players know that they are being watched and so, they sometimes try to fake their actions. One of the classic tells is – the lean-back. When a player has a strong hand, they lean back from the table and sit with their arms crossed. They are trying to hint that they don’t have much interest and are non-threatening but the truth is that they probably have the best cards.
The size of the eyes: This one is a general human tendency. As soon as you see good cards, your eyes get bigger. You must watch the opponents’ eyes to notice who likes what they just saw. The eye muscles unintentionally retract the eyelids and there’s a dilation in the pupils. If that’s what you notice, know that he/she has a good hand.
The repeat: Apart from nonverbal tells, there are also some verbal poker player traits that you can focus on. These are also equally valuable. For example, if you ask your opponent, “Did you just get a flush?” and their response is, “You think I just hit a flush?”, he/she most probably did get one. If you use verbal tells in the right manner, you can fish for useful information. The action of repeating your question as a response to you is a sign that they don’t wish to lie and they are sitting on a strong hand.
The easy smile: Another very interesting tactic used on the poker table is a stare-down. If it is just you and another player and you are trying to judge what that player has, try to give a stare. If his/her response to your eye-contact is a slight smile, you can guess that they have a good hand. But be wise. There is a lot of difference between a genuine smile and a fake smile. A genuine smile will bring back the corners of the mouth along with the corners of the eyes. A fake smile will reflect weakness with only the mouth smiling.
The dejected sigh: This one is extremely common. You would have seen it many times by now. Some players immediately show frustration or say ‘Dammit’ after seeing their cards. They are just trying to tell you that they have pathetic cards and are weak. However, you must go back to the general rule – weaknesses mean strength and when someone is attempting to blatantly show weakness, it means he/she is strong.

Spotting a tell is not easy, especially for new players. It takes time to master the act and you need to go slow. Every player is different and so are their actions. Player A might genuinely give reactions while Player B might be a master at hiding weaknesses. Go slow to get into the habit of understanding tells.

Notice one person at a time and develop your analysis on their actions – how they bluff, how they act when playing on a good hand, their body language when they fold, the meaning of high bets, etc. When you have a hang of understanding the tells of this one player, move on to the next one and over time, you will be able to notice the common tells on your table.

Check out: Poker Superstitions Popular on the Poker Table

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Check out: Poker Superstitions Popular on the Poker Table

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Body Language Poker Tells