[4_2_it]

Sorry to rain on the parade, but tells, for the most part are overrated, especially at home games. In my home game there is a guy who grabs a 'cheat sheet' every time he has a full house because he can't remember if it beats flush.

Short of this, most of the guys I play with don't have any idea how strong their hand really is. One guy will call down with middle pair like it's the stone cold nuts. Of course, he doesn't realize he's toast, but his body language suggests he has a monster.

Caro's tells are fine, but they only work on maybe 75% of the population. The other 25% either have the opposite tell or the tell means nothing (he mentions that in his book). I agree that the hand shake usually means a monster (everyone also knows it) so guess what, I develop Parkinson's everytime I bluff if I think someone is paying attention.

Just stay alert and observe their behavior when they win a pot and try to see what they do. The easiest tells are when a player behind you plans to fold, but that really doesn't help you all that much. You need hours and hours of live experience before you can be confident of a subtle tell.