Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

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How can you know if you have a tell? How can you minimize giving off tells?
Is there any way short of having a camera record your play that you can be aware of any tells you are giving?

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I've only played live maybe ~50 sessions or so lifetime, so I'm at the point where I'm trying to determine my own tells. I wait until someone makes a nice play against me, usually on the river, and I ask myself WTF just happened.

A couple of years ago when I first started playing, I made an awesome river bluff-raise, and this old dude thought for 30 seconds, as I just stared into the pot because I didn't want to trigger his calling reflex. He thought, and thought, and thought, then finally said "Ok I call, but I don't know how I can be ahead". Even after I showed my bluff, he still looked confused. Ya, he got a tell.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

I was palying in a casino. One of the players seemed pretty aware of things, but I was jet-lagged, tired and sloppy. I checked my cards ahead of my turn and clearly looked happy. He was before me and said "I'm folding, that guy likes his hand too much".

He may have been smart but he just helped me in the long run. I stopped checking my cards early and I try to have no reaction.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How can you know if you have a tell? How can you minimize giving off tells?
Is there any way short of having a camera record your play that you can be aware of any tells you are giving?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've only played live maybe ~50 sessions or so lifetime, so I'm at the point where I'm trying to determine my own tells. I wait until someone makes a nice play against me, usually on the river, and I ask myself WTF just happened.

A couple of years ago when I first started playing, I made an awesome river bluff-raise, and this old dude thought for 30 seconds, as I just stared into the pot because I didn't want to trigger his calling reflex. He thought, and thought, and thought, then finally said "Ok I call, but I don't know how I can be ahead". Even after I showed my bluff, he still looked confused. Ya, he got a tell.

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That or nitty old dudes hate folding. Sometimes a player has a huge propensity to call no matter what he thinks you have. Another possibility may be that when you went totally stonefaced and stared at the pot -- may have been different then the way you had acted on other big raises/big bets. That is the most likely case. Your behavior in general was the tell, not a twitch in your eye etc.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

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1. Don't look at your hole cards preflop until it is your turn. Many players have a peek and then hold the cards in a manner that they are ready to fold on their turn.

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Please don't give this advice. Games are slow enough as it is; this just slows them down even more. Cover your cards with a card protector (chip or other device) and be ready to act when it's your turn.

When everyone waits like this, the preflop round can take upwards of a minute.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

ABSOLUTELY...this past weekend I had a kid come out of the tournament to my 1/2 NL game acting like he was on the WPT. There is nothing more frustrating than a guy (in a cash game) waiting until it folds around to him to look down and then squeeze his cards out slow as all hell. It made me think...how crazy would I go sitting with Chris Ferguson.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

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[ QUOTE ]
1. Don't look at your hole cards preflop until it is your turn. Many players have a peek and then hold the cards in a manner that they are ready to fold on their turn.

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Please don't give this advice. Games are slow enough as it is; this just slows them down even more. Cover your cards with a card protector (chip or other device) and be ready to act when it's your turn.

When everyone waits like this, the preflop round can take upwards of a minute.

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Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

waiting to look at your hole cards until the action comes to you is absolutely correct. you get to watch the action leading up to you and you prevent yourself from making any premature decisions (conscious or unconscious). Have a standard amount of time (2-3 seconds) that you spend looking at your cards, taking note of the suits. Then take another 5 seconds to look to your left at the players waiting to act, and choose an action.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

As I'm waiting for the action to get to me I'm already thinking of what position I am in and who has folded, limped or raised, etc. At that point I can look down and make a decision and I have the circumstances surrounding my action in place. A good percentage of starting hands are going to be folds anyway, i.e. if I have T2o in mid position I am folding. Most decisions to fold are pretty quickly made. I would think for a relative beginner, myself included, pre-flop decisions are mostly cut and dry. Post-flop decisions involve a lot more thought.

But only a jerk would slow play a fold in a low limit game anyway.

One thing I do that makes the actual looking quicker is that as soon as the cards are dealt to me I arrange them so that I can quickly peek at them when the time is appropriate.

I may be a relative beginner, but virtually every book I have read on poker recommends looking at your cards when the action comes to you.

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

Fine. Wait until the action is on you. When 9 opponents have nothing else to do but watch you and look for any reaction as you see your hole cards for the first time.
But, no problem. You don't have any tells, right?

Re: How Can I Tell If I Have a Tell?
 

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waiting to look at your hole cards until the action comes to you is absolutely correct. you get to watch the action leading up to you and you prevent yourself from making any premature decisions (conscious or unconscious). Have a standard amount of time (2-3 seconds) that you spend looking at your cards, taking note of the suits. Then take another 5 seconds to look to your left at the players waiting to act, and choose an action.

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I've posted this multiple times here, but I'll say it again. I think waiting to look at your cards is TERRIBLE advice. It seems to be one of those old poker wisdom gems that just keeps getting passed around.

The reality is, you should get your cards ready to look at, keep an eye on what's going on at the table, and when nobody is looking at you and everybody's eyes are on the other guy down there where the action sits, steal a quick peek. If you DO give off a micro expression as you look, nobody is watching you. Now just sit quietly and wait for your turn. When it's your turn, move quickly to either muck the cards or grab chips.

The point is, if you wait until the action is on you to look at your cards, EVERYBODY is watching you as you get your first glance. Doncha think MAYBE people give off tells in that situation? It's just a lot easier to have the self-discipline to not telegraph your intentions after you check your cards (unless you're intending to do so) than it is to control micro expressions and sub-second glances as you look.

So not only do you make the game go faster by looking before it's your turn, I believe you decrease your chances of giving off uncontrollable tells.