Tell (poker)

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As Tell (Engl. Tell ) refers to the apparent change in the behavior of a poker player, to draw conclusions about his evaluation of his cards allowed. Experienced poker players can also use these tells as a bluff to deceive their opponent through conscious actions or acting skills. The counterpart to this is called a poker face .

When it comes to tells, authors of poker manuals differentiate between several categories:

Live tells

A tell , as the opposite of the poker face , can express itself in different ways, for example in a physical reaction of the player to the cards. A tell is used to "read" the other poker player (s) , ie to guess their cards and to recognize how they are playing. Are Detecting Live Tells especially on the following features:

Eyes and facial expressions

Every player's eyes are often used as a landmark. This is one of the reasons why poker players often wear sunglasses. It is also said that looking at the cards several times and for long periods of time means a bad hand. If a flop is of one playing card suit and a player checks his starting hand, he probably only has one card of the suit. It is also conspicuous if a player takes a quick look at his chips for new cards (a sign that he has just drawn good cards and is about to raise) or whether the player looks directly at the opponent (counts as a bluff finding) or looks away. Often a player fixes the card that is useful to him longer than the others.

Verbal behavior

Another tell results from verbal behavior. Many players seem uninterested or bored and absent when they have good cards in front of them. They play very hesitantly and display an insecure style of play, for example they wait a long time before making their bets.

Nervousness and general well-being

Trembling hands are a clear indicator of good cards, especially for players with few chips , as this game situation can be decisive for the player. Other tells in this category can be:

  • drum on the table
  • general mood (good mood comes from good cards)
  • Sweating, rapid pulse in the artery (therefore some players wear hoodies)

Others

Supposed conclusions about the opponent's cards can also be drawn from other behavioral characteristics during the game. For example, the entire gesture, the body posture, the way in which the chips are stacked or the brief holding of breath can be indicators of the value of the cards or the attempt at a bluff .

Online tells

There are also tells in internet poker; these have a lot to do with the speed of decisions. Normally, quick calling means ticking the box "Call any" and indicates a draw . From the flop percentage you can draw conclusions about how loose the table is. Since there are chat boxes here too, conclusions can be drawn from the way of speaking as in a live game. Another indication of a strong hand can be an extremely long wait by a player followed by a strong raise. With this so-called reverse tell he could try to convey a weak hand, or that he needed a long time for his decision, because he was not sure whether his hand was strong enough.

Setting behavior

A player's betting behavior, also known as betting patterns in literature , is one of the most important indicators of his hand. For example, some players increase B. only their starting hand if they have a high pair. With this you can exclude some hands with them. The betting behavior is sometimes listed under "Tells", but forms a separate category for some authors of poker guides.

literature