Real Life Poker Tells - 101

The hardest thing about tells is getting started. Beyond looking at someone when they make a big move at you and thinking "Do I believe them?", its hard to know where to start.

And there is so much information to see, how do you know what means something, and what doesn't?

Since we can't see all players at all times, we need to carefully select when to observe behavior. Beyond that though, there are other good reasons for keeping the amount of observation to a minimum.

1. You only want to spend time finding out important information, as its impossible to remember everything anyway.
2. Too much staring isn't appropriate.
3. Being obvious about looking for tells is going to make other players more conscious of hiding them.

So when are the two most important times to observe other players? Any time new cards are revealed, or other new information, such as a big bet, occurs. The two most obvious being:

1. Reading the hole cards.
2. Watching the flop.

If you observe players when they are looking at something else, such as their hole cards or the flop, they won't be aware of you looking for tells, and, more importantly, their tells will be most pronounced and accurate during the first moments they see these cards.

Any time there is a big decision, you want to be looking at the other players face when the decision has to be made, or if a big event has occured, a re-raise or all in, you want to be looking at the other players reaction to this event.

Knowing WHEN to look for tells is a good first step towards adding this strategy to your poker arsenal. Focus on the information that is key to making decisions later.