I can't really read people.. sometimes I can but not a lot at all considering I play the same people often. But the main problem is giving things away.

For example, early on I flopped a set from big blind (low cards) which nobody would really suspect. But I acted totally differently to how I suually do when I miss a flop totally, and I knew it so I only got a small amount from it on the turn and river. I checked it, (I'd been checking loads of flops so this was consistent), but I knew even the way I said check told people I had something.. its really annoying.

LAter on I raised 5*BB with KK and everyone folded to SB, he looked at me for ages trying to workout if I was stealing.. so I just sat there and did nothing at all, still he folded.

I dropped out when AJ cracked my AQ, (both all in pre flop) but still I played very badly.

Are there any general tips you can give for hiding tells and things like that? I have read Mike Caro's book about it, but it doesn't seem that good for hiding you own tells. Plus, some of the people I play with are pretty good at hiding things, Ive seen some very good acts as well that mislead people.

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"I tried to wear sunglasses once at the World Series and misread my hand. I threw them into the garbage can, and they were $1,100 sunglasses." - Phil Ivey

(Phil’s wife overheard this and said, “So, that’s where those went. I thought you lost them.” “Yeah,” he said. “I lost them in the garbage can.” “Those were nice sunglasses,” she said. “Yeah, so nice that they cost me a $100,000 pot.”)

First off, go read Caro's book. It will teach you tells so that you can learn what YOU are probably doing.

Then if possible, see if you can videotape yourself playing. Then when you review it later, you can look for your own tells. Or get a friend to observe the game and advise you.

Or you can just stick to online.

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Here's some of my random thoughts Often the problem is that when your cards are poor you are relaxed knowing you will be folding and so when you get a decent hand you change your behaviour. Rather than changing the way you act when you have strength (which is difficult) try changing the way you act when you have nothing and are going to fold.

This probably means controlling the way you move lot more, making less broad gestures and moving about. I play with one guy who never moves whether he's in the hand or not he just stares at the board, he's a nightmare to read

part of it is just getting comfortable playing too. When I first started playing my heart would go 100bpm when ever a got a good hand. Now, I can flop quads and don't care too much.

If you education yourself about what others do, it may help you know how to act right.

Look at Phil Ivey, he always looks board.

Read one of his interviews, he says he spooks himself when he watches himself on TV, he's not normally that shady looking.

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In order to not give up the farm with your own tells I suggest:

Say: as little as possible at the table, dont say check or raise, just knock the table or put your bet out (in NL you have to say raise, but don't specify the amount. Put it out far enough for the dealer to reach and let him do the talking.

Sit: In one particular manner. If you get uncomfortable from that position switch to a new one, but don't fidget. Don't switch positions too often. I usually have my elbow on the table and rest my chin on my fist. If you think your eyes are giving things away I recommend a hat with a hooded sweatshirt. You can pull the hat down, put the hood up and your eyes and face are almost as visible as wearing sunglasses, except you can stil see the cards. (I hate sunglasses for that reason...cant see the fucking flop).

Stare: At the same spot on the table for every action. I usually pick one of the letters on the table. If you always look at the same spot your eyes won't give much if anything away.

Stack: Your chips in a manner consistent with the betting. Fumbling your chips is embarassing ( we have all done it) and it gives away tells. If you stack your chips in units, you just pick up the right number of units and you wont look like a boob dropping chips while you count.

Hold: your hand in place with a chip or whatever retarded trinket you feel you need.When you look at your hand make a point to remember your cards and dont look at them again. Its a dead giveaway when someone has to check em again. After you look return to your sitting position. DO NOT TOUCH YOUR CHIPS OR HOLD YOUR CARDS WITH THE INTENT TO FOLD! This is the biggest blunder. People will make their plays based on what they see you ready to do. Don't give your next action away by preparing for it. Everyone at the table has to wait for your move. Make them wait, don't tell em ahead of time.

Then the next biggest step when you get comfortable with yourself at the table is to examine everyone else. I don't look at my cards until its my turn to act. Not because I think I'm giving something away, but rather I want to watch everyone else look at their hole cards. I cant tell you what I see, but your eyes pick up patterns. Use em!

Don't watch the flop, watch your opponents watch the flop. The cards arent going anywhere, but their facial expressions are extremely short lived. Take a look and see if they liked it.

Hope this helps. The best thing you can do to hide your own tells is to be consistent in your behavior. For me this skill came with many live hands and getting comfortable with the fact that I am usually playing with more money live than I am online. If you get a boner about a $6 bet you will with time just learn to play it as chips.

Good Luck!

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Trons: "...be a winning person first."
RECENT SUCCESS: December
4th place $20+2 Stars MTT $1740, 3rd place $15+1.50 Stars MTT $1300

I would suggest "Pick a natural style" and practice applying it (even online with no one in the room) when you play. I could never be as relaxed and chatty as Daniel Negraneau or wacko and animated as Phil Laak so I would never pick that style for my play. I am more of the Hoyt Corkins or Howard Lederer reserved and quite type. Not as controlled as Jesus Ferguson who adopted his style because he felt he was giving up too much information when he didn't have a style so innovated the timed and deliberate study style. Doyle is also somewhat quiet and reserved but will often chat it up - I try to limit talk to little or none!
But as already mentioned RELAX, get comfortable and if you feel pressured, take a breath and PAUSE - just a little - to get yourself under control before making your play. And where hand signal will do - use them. i.e tapping the table twice is a pass/check. In limit Holdem, advancing chips to the playing surface is automatically understood to be a bet and if twice the required amount is placed there, most have understood that to be a raise although some casinos want you to verbally confirm your moves so be aware of the local rules. And RELAX - you're supposed to be having fun after all!

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:ah :as :ad :8c :8d

I don't see how it affects you negatively if you give a tell that you intend to throw your cards away just occasionaly.

If I am in late position and look at my cards before I am due to act (which I don't usually do) and see a hand like JTs, 78s, 66, AT I will wait until I see the action previous to me before I make my decision.

If I see J3 off I will sometimes hold it in a manner ready to be tossed away. A player will be able to pick up this tell and gain an advantage, however it will be at no cost to me, since I had no intention of playing the hand anyway.

If you do this everytime you intend to fold then of course he can get a read on you but if you just do it with absolute junk he is gaining information at the expense of the later players, and not you.

any inoformation you give your opponents is bad information. Lets say you are on the button .. you get j3o and hold it in muck position... and a guy in Utg+2 sees that...he's going to know that he has 1 less person behind him to contend with...

and while its of no consequence to you (you're not goign to be in the pot anyways) you don't want him making decisions based on you, and him gaining money.

But thats not the point, now you're getting into the habbit of pre-mucking your cards, and people pick up on that ... now you have like pp2 and you're not holding them like to muck them... they KNOW you're thinking about playing them... that can be the difference between a call and a fold - especially if your table image is one of being tight - and what happens if you hit a set of ducks? Well.. you have one less person in the pot to pay you off, thats what.

I dont think *any* information you give is bad information. You can give him false information, eg. you have a drawing hand and are second to act. In the time it takes your opponent to act, you work out the amximum bet you will call for pot odds. The second you find out hsi bet, you muck. Now it might look like you were bluffing.

Or, you take a long time to call an easy hand, and make it out like you're working out how many outs you have on a very drawing table when you have the nuts. Your opponent might sense this and bet a lot.

Or every now and then, show your cards that you bluff on, but only half of them.. your opposnents might think that every time your bluff, you show your cards (yeah. one of those people thats really proud of it and cant let nobody know), but in reality theyll be getting false information about how regularly you bluff. You might chose only to show bluffs in dealer or CO, so they will give your bluffs more respect when you do it in BB or SB.

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"I tried to wear sunglasses once at the World Series and misread my hand. I threw them into the garbage can, and they were $1,100 sunglasses." - Phil Ivey

(Phil’s wife overheard this and said, “So, that’s where those went. I thought you lost them.” “Yeah,” he said. “I lost them in the garbage can.” “Those were nice sunglasses,” she said. “Yeah, so nice that they cost me a $100,000 pot.”)