Anyone have a little mental checklist of things they look for when trying to spot tells? I usually don't spend much time looking for specific acts -- I generally just try to get an overall perception and go with "gut feel..." But there is one player at my local card room who always keeps himself with a good chipstack (rebuying for max if he runs low, but he usually is up). And he plays the stack fairly well, bullying people out of many pots. He does a great job varying his bet amounts (sometimes limping with preflop AA or AK, sometimes raising 3BB, sometimes 10bb, etc) and his face is completely expressionless when looking at his pocket cards (or the flop). Likewise, he would often grab a handfull of chips and shuffle/stack before betting big or checking, or folding. He'd sometimes grab a few chips and do the same. Likewise, no scratch or tick seemed to tip his hand...

Anyway, after many hours at the table trying to put together a pattern, I finally spotted a little flaw. Whenever he had a big hand preflop (AA, KK, QQ), he would place his card protector dead center of his cards. If he had a pretty good starting hand (AQ etc), he would place the card protector at one end of the cards (but still centered side-to side). If he had rags or a drawing hand, he placed the card protector on the corner of his cards (as if he were making it just a little easier to fold). After spotting it (and confirming it over a few days of play), I'm amazed I didn't see it earlier.

So are there any other little common mannerisms you keep an eye out for when sizing up a new & threatening player?



PS, I ordered the little green book & TOP but it'll be a few days before they get in... I apologize if this is covered in either book....

That is a ridiculously obvious tell that the guy has. I can't believe he is a winning player. You will probably never see anyone with as obvious a tell as that, so enjoy.

physical reads are the strongest part of my game.

but i cant explain any. for some reason they just sometimes click in my head.

Originally Posted by tightagressive

physical reads are the strongest part of my game.

but i cant explain any. for some reason they just sometimes click in my head.

Well if you can't explain them then that is just more of a feel for the game which can't really be taught, you just get it once you play enough. When things 'click' in your head it's mostly because you have just instinctively picked up on the betting pattern and know if the guy is strong or weak. This is something that a beginner can do too but they will have to think back through the hand a a lot more. When you think these things are clicking it is most likely just that you know the likely hands they could have to make all of those moves, but because you didnt have to think about it you see it as more something you picked up from the body language.