| Before I get into specific
tells, there are a few guidelines that apply
whenever you see a tell and you're trying to
analyze it:
1. At the lower limit games, where
most of the players aren't too
sophisticated, popular belief holds that the
best way to fool other players is to act
weak when you're strong and act strong when
you're weak. It's very common to see players
who have a full house act like they can't
beat ace-high and players who can't even
beat ace-high act like they have a full
house.
For this reason I'll advise you, if
you're going to act at all, to act like your
hand is strong when it is strong and to act
like it's weak when it is weak. Many of your
opponents will think you are lying, because
that's what they would do, and they'll often
misread your hand.
2. If you're trying to work out
what a possible tell means, don't make
things harder than they have to be.
If you think the other player doesn't
know that he just gave you a tell, you can
go with what it usually means. If you think
he is acting and he gave you that tell
knowingly,. you can proceed from there
accordingly.
3. If you spot a tell and you
honestly cannot decide what it means you
have several options. You can stop the
action, think about it until you arrive at a
conclusion, and then make your play.
Alternatively, you can ignore it completely
and rely on the other information you have
to help you evaluate the hand.
Chances are, if you can't decide what a
tell means after reading this, it's probably
not that valuable to you. The best you can
do is remember the tell, remember the cards
the player had when you spotted his tell,
make a note of it, and think about it after
the game.
4. A player's general demeanor
during the play of a hand is a big clue as
to the strength of his hand. If he appears
to be happy, enthusiastic, and not worried,
he probably has a good hand. If he appears
to be un-happy, acts disgusted with his
hand, or makes negative remarks, he probably
has a bad hand. His general demeanor won't
tell you exactly what his hand is, but it's
certainly one more bit of information that
you can consider when making your decisions.
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