Know When to Fold ‘Em (and When to Raise): Live Poker Tells
One of the hardest things in poker (and life) is knowing when to give up and fold your cards. Just because your opponent is betting and raising doesn’t mean they have a better hand, as they can always be bluffing. Unless you have x-ray vision or are psychic, you’ll never know for sure if you made the right decision when you fold.
That said, there are definitely signs you can look for, that often tip you off that your opponent really does have a good hand and isn’t just bluffing. In the poker world, these are called “tells”. Tells are just that, gestures and body language that tell you whether your opponent has a good hand or whether they’re bluffing.
While they aren’t 100% guaranteed, some of the poker tells below can help you know when to fold when playing live poker, as they often tip you off that your opponent has a strong hand.
I’m Bored and Have No Interest in This Hand at All: Be very careful if your opponent looks bored, as if they could care less, especially if they’re looking over at the cocktail waitress, at the ceiling, anywhere other than at the cards on the table. Many players think that looking interested will tip off people that they have a good hand, so they act like they’re bored, as if they couldn’t care less. If this “bored” player suddenly wakes up and raises, they almost always have a very good hand.
Looking Down at their Chips: If a player quickly looks down at his stack of chips after the face-up community cards are dealt, it often means that he has a strong hand, and that the community cards helped his hand. His immediate reaction is one of excitement, followed by the thought of “How much do I have to bet?”, which is why he looks down at his chips. If he had a bad hand, it wouldn’t matter how many chips he had, as he would plan on immediately folding, so there would be no need to check his stack.
No Eye Contact: In the world of poker tells, strong usually means weak, and vice versa. If a player confidently bets and immediately looks into your eyes, trying to intimidate you and stare you down, this often means that he is bluffing, and that his hand is actually not very good. Conversely, if a player bets but looks away from you, looking very nervous and weak and not happy about their hand, this often means that they actually have a very good hand, and don’t want to tip it off by appearing strong.
Shaky Hands: While shaky hands is often a case of simple nervousness, it can also often indicate that a player has a strong poker hand. When players have a really good hand they often get excited, which causes their heart rate to increase. A natural side effect of an increased heart rate is shaking hands, so be careful at the poker table when you see a player’s hand shake, as it often means they have a very good hand, not that they’re bluffing and are nervous and scared.
