Making Observations in Poker
As opposed to playing on poker sites such as Full Tilt Poker, BurnPoker, or PokerStars, when playing live poker, your head should be on a swivel, ever vigilant. You want to notice the physical tells most players cannot help but give. By paying attention and making observations, you will pick up on these physical tells and be able to figure out what they mean, which results in turning a profit or saving a bundle at the poker table..
Common Physical Tells
Next time you are playing live poker at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, pay attention for some of the following physical tells:
If a poker player’s hands begin shaking (providing he is not normally a shaker), this typically means he has a monster. Proceed with caution.
If a poker player begins breathing rapidly, which you can notice in his or her chest area, they have a great hand and it just improved.
An opposing player who has frowned and scrunched up his cheek typically is trying to make you think they missed. More often than not, they did not.
An opposing party poker player constantly staring at the board is trying to piece together his hand in hopes of finding that he did hit the board. Most often, this player can be knocked off his hand. If he bets and stares at the board, it is typically a bluff and should be raised or called.
A player who perks up, sitting statuesque typically has a strong hand, while a player who is leaning back in his seat has a weak hand.
A betting player trying to look disinterested on PokerStars.com typically wants a call and attempts to act uncaring, while a poker player who has bet and stares you down has often missed and is running a bluff.
Understanding physical poker tells is a valuable skill that every professional poker player should master. By making observations at the poker player, you can pick up on and exploit many of the above physical tells.