10 Simple Poker Tells You Can (Usually) Bank On

Tells and poker – a pseudo-science which sometimes seems to work and sometimes seems to not hit the mark at all.
To start with, most amateur poker players have the wrong ideas about which tells to look out for.
Have you ever seen Rounders and Teddy KGB eating an Oreo? Well, Matt Damon obviously could tell by the way Teddy ate his cookie exactly how strong his hand was.
That's just one of the examples that just don't work outside of movies.
In most cases tells are contradictory and inconsistent and do not reveal enough information to solely base a play marked cards on.
Many experts have written books and articles about tells. Most of them are too broad to actually be useful or they're too narrow and you'll rarely find an opponent exposing this specific tell.
PokerOlymp's Jan Meinert shares 10 tells which (at least in most cases) "work" -- if you're playing against weaker players who don't have a lot of live experience under their belt.

1. Weak Means Strong

A gloomy face can be revealing.

This is one of the best known poker tells and it's seen very often among new players.
Players that act weak usually have a strong hand. Sighing, shrugging or a gloomy face very often indicate a very strong hand.
It's a natural instinct when attempting to conceal a big hand to try and appear weak. A player shrugging and raising usually has a strong hand, so don't fall for that trap!

2. Straightened Posture

A player who straightens his posture to play a hand or while in a hand usually has something he's at least interested in.
More often than not he even has a very strong hand and is getting ready to pull out the big guns.

3. Abrupt Silence or Flood of Words

A player who normally talks a lot and suddenly becomes silent usually has been dealt a very good hand.
The same holds true for players that usually don't talk but all of a sudden start to babble after getting dealt a hand.

4. Sound of the Voice

Players wearing hoodies or sunglasses might feel protected from giving away tells, but in fact they're not.
Often the sound of their voice tells a lot about their hand. Players holding a strong hand have an easier time marked cards lenses talking and answering questions.
Players that bluff are often scared to give away a tell and sound insecure.

5. Impatience

A player suddenly waking up and getting impatient during a hand often indicates a strong holding.
Asking questions like "who's turn is it" and prompting the dealer to continue indicate the player is in a hurry to rake in a nice pot.

A simple chip on the cards could say a lot.

6. Hole-Card Protection

This tell is really simple: Some players actually fall for the trap to protect their hole cards (by putting a chip on top of them) if and only if they are at least fairly strong.
This tell should by all means be exploited to the maximum.

7. Splashing Chips

A player pounding out a bet or splashing chips very often has a weak hand and is trying to cover up for this by acting extra strong.
If a player uses a little bit more force than he usually does when placing his chips, he's usually making a bluff.

8. Fumbling and Glancing

A player who, after seeing his hole cards, immediately glances at his chips or starts to fumble with them usually has a very strong hand.
Right after seeing his hand he's thinking about the upcoming bet sizing and thus involuntarily looks at his chips.
The same holds true if a player looks at his chips right after the flop has been dealt. It means the flop has helped his hand and he's getting ready to fire up the action.

Beware of the freeze.

9. Bet Sizing

Here's a tell that works without looking at the other players: Weak players often have problems with bet sizing and their bets show exactly how strong their hand is.
Big cards mean big bets, small cards mean small bets. It's that simple.
If a player repeatedly bets a tiny fraction of the pot with his weak hands, you can be sure he has a monster when he suddenly pulls out the big guns.

10. Freezing

A player who freezes after placing a bet is bluffing very often.
It's not easy to talk when you're bluffing. You're afraid to trigger a call by something you say or with a gesture. So a player who is bluffing often refrains from talking and moving, sometimes even breathing.
This tell also works the other way around: a player who is very talkative after placing a bet usually has it.
He's trying to lure in a call by any means possible and trying to keep you interested in your hand.

Event 39, No-Limit Hold'em - Live Updates

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - Woo Hoo!

Woot woot!

David Woo has won the bracelet, $631,656 and an interview with PL.com. We'll leave it up to you to decide which he was happiest about.

In the final hand Matt Wood raised from the button making it $360,000 and Woo called. Wood fired out $175k on the 9♥ 5♠ 4♦ flop and Wood repopped making it $675k total. Without hesitation Woo came over the top of the reraise making it $1 million dollars - Whahahaha!
Wood shoved and Woo took a few seconds before doing the math and making the call.
Woo had an overpair with 10♥ 10♦ against Wood's 9♠ 6♦ flopped top pair and when the Q♠ turn and 4♣ river fell it was over.
Wood takes $389,844 for second while Woo grabs all the glory!

Level

25

Blinds

30000/60000

Ante

5000

Average Stack

$8,160,000

Players Left

1

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - You Better Knock, Knock, Knock On Wood

Like most of this final table, heads-up has been the David Woo show. That is until the biggest pot of the match played out in the last half of the first hour.
Matt Wood limped the button but Woo decided to raise. He made it $300k and Wood flatted.
The 9♠ 8♥ 7♦ flop fell and Woo bet out $100k. Wood leaned in and fired out a raise making it $500k, which Woo called.
The turn brings the 2♠ and a check from Woo. Wood then cut out a $1.1 million bet and slid it towards the marked cards centre of the table sending Woo into the tank.
He pulled out enough for a call, but Woo seemed hesitant, first staring over at Wood before sliding his fingers up and down over the two stacks of $25k chips in front of him.
Eventually he threw his cards in the muck and Wood had taken $800k off the leader.
Wood now has $3.3 million to Woo's $4.8 million and it's really anybody's ball game.

Level

25

Blinds

30000/60000

Ante

5000

Average Stack

$4,080,000

Players Left

2

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - Heads Up For Gold!

The three players had been on a break for much of the last hour, but once they returned, it didn't take long before things kicked off.
The third place player has been decided and the two remaining combatants are heads up for the bracelet.
David Woo has been an unstoppable juggernaut so far, can anything stop his inexorable ascent to the throne?
Here's how we got to heads up.
Show Him The Door, Matt!
Eric Beren was the shortstack three handed and pushed on the button with A♥ T♥, only to run into Matt Wood making a very standard call with his A♣ Q♦. Ooooh nasty!
Calling for a Ten, Beren watched the dealer fan out a board that had no tens on it, and once the smoke had cleared, Wood's A-Q high was good for the pot, meaning Eric Beren is OUT, eliminated in 3rd spot, winning $278,4640!
David Woo and Matt Wood are heads up, vying for the bracelet, but as Wood knocked out Beren in third he has eaten into the previously impregnable lead Woo has amassed!
Here are the current chip counts, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com.

David Woo	$5,315,000
Matthew Wood	$2,880,000

Level

25

Blinds

30000/60000

Ante

5000

Average Stack

$2,720,000

Players Left

3

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - Woo Woo - Full Steam Ahead!

Wow Nice Hand Sir!

The final has been relatively one way traffic so far and a huge and amazing pot just played out that is likely to be the definitive pot of the tournament.
Here's how it all went down.
Woo Takes Two!
An absolute stonker of a pot here.
Woo, Curtis Early and Thom Wethmann saw an unraised Q♦ J♣ T♣ flop, and Werthman bet out $275,000, Woo flat called and Curtis Early moved all-in for $1,300,000.
Big push, but Werthmann was going nowhere, also pushing in for $1,500,000.
Unbeleivably David Woo now looked like he might call, he looked stunned and amazed but had a relatively easy decision, calling the two pushes, holding the nuts, A♣ K♦!
An amazing cooler-esque flop it had proved as Werthmann flipped Q♣ J♠ for top two pair and Curtis Early K♣ Q♥ for top pair and an open ended straight draw!
With the stack sizes getting so small relative to the blinds, it was almost inevitable all the players would fire their chips in on this flop but it was Woo who was best placed to pick up the $4,500,000 pot and take an even more dominant position in the chip count standings.
Needing to dodge a Jack, Queen or Ace to scoop, he did just that as the turn and river blanked in the form of the 3♣ and 8♠!
Two players busted by the rampaging Woo then, Curtis Early picks up $150,368 for his fifth place finish while Thom Werthmann is also eliminated, finishing 4th by virtue of his slightly superior chip position, winning $191,209.
Who can stop Woo?
Habib Khan't
Habib Khanis won't be the man to put the brakes on Woo as he shoved his shortstack in from the cutoff with J♥ Q♥ and found Eric Beren calling from the small blind with the dominating K♦ Q♠.
Looking for a knave to spike to save his tournament, he was out of luck as the board ran out blanks and Beren's King high finished up best, meaning we are left three handed!
Habib Khanis is OUT, eliminated in 4th spot, winning $233,906.
Here are the current chip counts, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker, showing Woo's superiority as he looks increasingly likely to take down the title!

David Woo	$5,450,000
Matthew Wood	$1,410,000
Eric Beren	$1,290,000

Level

25

Blinds

30000/60000

Ante

5000

Average Stack

$2,720,000

Players Left

3

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - Woo Tang Bang

The relatively high blinds the players have faced today, mean often a three bet preflop will involve an all-in. This has made the final play out fast and furiously, with David Woo the recipient of many of the chips.
Here's the latest Woo Coup.
Tran Off The Tracks (OUT - 7th)

Kenny: Still The Only Tran With A Bracelet In 2008

When David Woo limped in from early position, Tran was in the mood to punish any limpage, raising it up to $310,000 with A♥ Q♦.
However, he faced an unexpected all-in from Woo for the remainder of his $480k stack. He didn't look happy as he guessed Woo had limped a monster, but getting some attractive pot odds and with the blinds likely to swallow him up should he fold, he made the call.
He was probably praying to see pocket Tens or Jacks, but instead he was shown the dominating A♣ K♣ in Woo's hands.
Looking for a lady to spike, he laughed at card cheating his positioning worsening on a 9♠ 4♣ 3♣ flop.
With only three outs to start, now reduced to two, he was in dire shape and the board ran out 4♦ and J♣ to give Woo an unnecessary but very pretty nut flush.
Thanh Dat Tran's tournament is brought to an end, eliminated in 7th spot, winning $113,240 for his performance.
The First Curt-Is The Deepest
Curtis Early and Wood tangled preflop, Early making a call of Matt Wood's shove after his initial raise.
He showed down a strong pair of Tens, but was a rizla paper's width behind Wood, who tabled pocket Jacks for a dominant position.
That all changed on the flop however, as the dealer slid out Q♠ T♣ 6♥. Curtis had spiked a ten and Wood needed a lot of help at this point.
The turn K♥ was very useful, giving him 10 outs instead of two with his open ended straight draw.
The re-suck beckoned and the re-suck arrived, Wood looking massively relieved as a 9♣ arrived on the river to give him his backdoor straight and keep him in the competition, doubling him through and leave Early in a spot of bother!
Here are the chip counts, illustrating Woo's current dominance, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com

David Woo	$3,370,000
Matthew Wood	$1,510,000
Thom Werthmann	$1,205,000
Eric Beren	$900,000
Curtis Early	$890,000
Habib Khanis	$530,000

Level

25

Blinds

30000/60000

Ante

5000

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - More Mayhem - 7 remain...

After a sluggish start, momentum is starting to gather as the players fall into their stride.
Many of the key hands in the previous level have revolved around Mike Glasser.
Here's his tale.
Glasser Hunts A Heart
Raising to $150,000 from middle position, Mike Glasser found Eric Beren moving in from the big blind for $530,000.
He squirmed in his seat fearing the worst, but ultimately felt he was getting a good price with his A♣ Q♥, calling only for Beren to turn over one of four hands he feared, the dominating A♠ K♠.
The flop fell 5♥ 3♥ 3♣, a relatively good one for Glasser, opening up some split and backdoor draw outs, and the A♥ on the turn opened up the distinct possibility of an outdraw.
Needing a heart to complete his flush, the river was red, but the 7♦ was not what he needed, leaving Beren to scoop up the $1,000,000 plus pot and crippling Glasser in the process, down to a mere $70,000 in chips.
Top Of The Glass!
Needing to move fast, Mike Glasser did so, shipping it in from early position and picking up two callers, Curtis Early and his previous nemesis Eric Beren.
Seeing a flop of J♥ T♥ T♠, Early bet out $300,000 into the dry pot, clearing Beren out and taking the pot heads up with Glasser.
He showed 9-9, only for Glasser to show the nut full house with J-J!
Drawing dead to running nines, Curtis missed, leaving Glasser to rake in a very handy triple up.
Glass Dismissed! (OUT - 8th)

Did You See That River?!?

Mike Glasser's rampaging recovery was brought crashing to a halt by Matt Wood.
Pushing his $300,000 stack into the middle from the button, Matt called from the big blind and the cards were on their backs...
Glasser: 9♠ 9♦
Wood: A♠ Q♣
The players strapped themselves in and went to the races and a J♠ 7♥ 4♦ was great for Glasser. With only two more cards to fade Wood's overs, the J♦ turn was safe and he looked like he might be on the verge of a quickfire recovery.
Wood's supporters burst into cheers however as the killer A♦ arrived to secure his victory on the river and Mike Glasser is eliminated in eight place, winning $85,394.
Here's how that has affected the current chip standings, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com

David Woo	$2,100,000
Curtis Early	$1,200,000
Thom Werthmann	$1,800,000
Eric Beren	$890,000
Matthew Wood	$885,000
Thandat Tran	$845,000
Habib Khanis	$430,000

Level

23

Blinds

20000/40000

Ante

5000

06/23/2008 (6 years ago)

Event 39 - Final Table Time!

We're back, ready and poised to play down to the bracelet in this, the latest $1,500 NL Hold'Em final.
The tournament took its time last night to play down to the final table, resulting in the blinds being a hefty $20,000 $40,000 at the resumption of today's play.
We've already had some action at this early stage!
Beware Of Flops Bearing Gifts, Paras (OUT - 9th)
With two limpers in front of him, Jim Paras raised it up to $150,000 from the cut-off with A♥ J♥ and picked up a caller in David Woo.
Woo checked the J♠ 5♣ 2♥ flop, only for Paras to move all-in on what looked like a favorable board but his 'top,top' looked considerably weaker when he found Woo playing possum, insta-calling with a juicy set of deuces in the hole.
Drawing thin, the J♣ on the turn for Paras was massive, giving him seven outs to make a miraculous escape, but his runner runner dreams were crushed along with any thoughts of a bracelet win as the river blanked out with the 9♠.
Jim Paras is our first elimination, knocked out in 9th place, winning $58,290.

Paras: But I Had Top, Top!

In what was a terse finale as we approached the final table last night, David Woo was one of the more aggressive players, and so far, he has made much of the early running today,boosting his stack up from its starting position of just over $1,000,000 to over $1,700,000, which is good for the chip lead at present.
Here are the chip counts after the first hour, courtesy of worldseriesofpoker.com

David Woo	$1,750,000
Thom Werthmann	$1,545,000
Curtis Early	$1,485,000
Thanhdat Tran	$1,240,000
Matthew Wood	$720,000
Mike Glasser	$705,000
Habib Khanis	$515,000
Eric Beren	$410,000

Level

23

Blinds

20000/40000

Ante

5000

10 Essential Texas Hold’em Moves: The Soul Read

We’re here to tell you winning at poker isn’t all about fundamentals.
There are a handful of special moves that, when mastered, can make the difference between winning a little, and winning a lot.
In this ten-part beginner poker strategy series we’re going to show you exactly how to use these powerful poker moves to make more money.
Today we’re explaining the truth about soul reads.
What might look like a supernatural deduction akin to a fortune teller gazing into a crystal ball is actually a well-thought-out series of observations that lead to the correct decision.
We’ll show you how to make those big call downs with ace-high or bottom pair. It’ll not only impress the other marked cards players in the game, it’ll make you more money too.
The What: When people talk about making a soul read they’re referring to making a correct, yet very difficult decision, and doing it with a confidence that goes above and beyond the available info in the hand.
The When: The big call or the huge fold might be the hallmark of the soul read but really it’s a process that’s been going on from the very beginning of the hand. It begins as soon as you start assembling the pieces of the puzzle.
The Where: Soul reads can be made at any time in any poker game. When you nail your opponent on exactly what he’s holding and why he’s making certain actions, you are reading his soul.
The Who: To make a true soul read you need to know your opponent inside and out. What seems like an impossible deduction to the rest of the table is often possible because of what you know about your opponent and the history you’ve shared.

Daniel Negreanu is renowned for his ability to put players on hands.

 

Soul Reads Done Right

Understanding how to read souls is especially important because it relies on one of the most important skills in poker: Observation.
Poker is a game of information, and the winners are the ones who collect the most and assemble it the best to make correct decisions.
You must observe everything your opponents do, whether you’re in the hand or not. Seeing how someone plays their draws or how they behave when they flop the nuts is crucial to making that huge read when it really counts.
When you can make observations and compare that data to what you already know about your opponent’s playing marked cards lenses tendencies, you’re ready to take the first step towards soul-reading.

You Must Read Hands Before You Can Read Souls

The easiest way to think about hand-reading in poker is to break down all possible hands into broad groups. Those groups are called “ranges”.
A range of hands contains all the card combinations with which a player would make the same actions.
For example, bottom set and top two pair are both strong hands and would fall into most players’ value-betting ranges. Ace-high and complete air, meanwhile, would be found in their bluffing ranges.
Remember, different players have different ranges. Top pair is enough for some players to get their whole stacks in with, while a good player would have no trouble laying down two-pair in the right spot.
Hands can be broken down into four basic ranges:

• Monster Hands and the Nuts: These are hands that your opponent deems strong enough to bet or raise with, and has no problem getting all-in with. For most players a set or better is a monster.
• Made Hands with Showdown Value: These are top-pair type hands that your opponent believes stand a strong chance of being the best hand but are probably not strong enough to play for stacks.
• Draws: Flush draws, open-enders and combo draws that have a good chance of becoming the best hand but are not yet made.
• Bluffs and Air: Hands that have no chance of winning at showdown.

Phil Ivey's the only person we know who literally looks into people's souls to see what they're holding.

 

Once you can reliably put your opponent on a range you’ll be able to make vastly superior decisions at the poker table.

Questions You Should Ask Yourself

There’s no shortcut to perfect hand-reading but there are a number of basic questions you should always be able to answer.
Ask yourself these questions when you’re deciphering your opponent’s actions:

• What kind of player is he? Is your opponent loose or tight? Passive or aggressive?
• Is he playing too many hands? The easiest way to tell if someone’s loose or tight is to watch how often they’re putting money in the pot. If someone is playing more than 20% of hands it’s safe to say they’re on the loose side.
• Is he calling or betting/raising? If a player is constantly playing hands but you can’t remember the last time they bet or raised, it’s safe to label them a passive calling station. If a player is always taking the lead with bets and raises, label them aggressive.
• What position is he in? Position is huge in poker and most people know it. The later the position the wider the range. The reverse is also true so give more respect to raises coming from early position.

Soul Reading in Action

If you still think soul reading is just an old wives tale, the stuff of legend, check out this video of WSOP bracelet winner Max Lykov.
The Russian defies all logic and makes an enormous call down with king high. And he does it with confidence.