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How to Spot Chip, Card and Betting Tells in Texas Hold’em Poker – Part 4 of 4

Chip Tells

The amount of force a player uses in moving their chips to the pot can be an obvious tell (subconscious action). If the player spikes their chips (slamming down a stack past the bet line), they are more likely to have a weak hand.

Also, be aware that fumbling of the chips may betray inexperience at a brick and mortar casino, and belie the fact that the player has considerable experience online. This is very apparent with some players on televised poker tournaments that draw their players from online qualifiers, such as Fox Sports Net tournaments sponsored by major online poker sites.

When a player makes a call or raise and they place their chips closer to themselves, they often have a strong hand. By placing them close, they are often subconsciously keeping their chips within easy reach to rake them back when they win. A player who uses a lot of force in tossing in the chips toward the pot, or flings them away, often has a marginal hand. This tossing away of the chips is often because they feel they have already lost the hand and the chips as well.

Players with several denominations of chips in front of them can often give away their hand by which chips they use when betting. If they place their smaller denomination chips in the pot, subconsciously giving away their small chips and keeping their big chips for themselves, they are unsure they have the best hand. If they bet with the high denomination chips, they are not expecting to lose them. A player making a move for their chips out of turn is normally indicating that the most recent community card is an improvement.

How players maintain their chip stacks may give an insight into their style of play. Neat, organized chip stacks are often the earmark of a tight-aggressive player. Loose-aggressive players often have sloppy, irregular chip stacks. How a player cuts out the chips can also give insight into the strength of the hand. Cutting out chips is when a player separates the chips from the stack before placing them in the pot to see how many chips will remain after the bet. It is similar to the way a cowboy would cut out a calf from the herd for branding.

This is the key place to look for chip tells. A player who is unsure of the amount of chips needed for a call, or who is having trouble counting out the correct number of chips, is often unsure of the strength of his/her hand. A player counting and recounting chips may also be unsure of his/her hand’s strength. Unfortunately, playing with chip stacks is where most players go Hollywood (acting at the table, normally with a reverse tell.), so realize that the player may be using a reverse tell to fool you and the other players.

Card Tells

At what time a player looks at their hole cards can be a tell about their experience level. Many inexperienced players look at their cards as soon as they receive them vs. watching the other players while they look at their cards. By not waiting until it is their turn to play, they miss viewing possible tells other players may exhibit.

As the dealer places the community cards on the table, it is important to watch how other players still in a hand react. Their eyes may look to their chips, a look of pleasure may pass fleetingly over their face, or a look of disgust may show they did not hit the card they needed.

If the flop falls with several cards of the same suit, watch for the player who rechecks their hole cards. They may remember the rank of the cards, but be unsure of the suits, and be checking to see if they are on a flush draw. The same tell is possible if the flop cards are connected, since they are verifying their straight draw. Be wary of any strong bets after these tells.

Betting Tells

The speed with which a player bets is often indicative of the hand they have. A fast call or raise normally signifies strength, while taking too much time can be a sign of indecision. Observe the player’s actions for a while to determine the normal speed they play their hands before you can recognize this tell. Also, be prepared for the false tell, as this is an excellent place for an opponent to think long and act weak while holding a premium starting hand.

By noticing a player who always raises with large pocket pairs, you can avoid a confrontation when you hold a marginal hand. If you notice a player with a tendency to continue to bet after a pre-flop raise, then you can safely check to them when you have a big hand, knowing you can get a check raise out of them.

It is important to follow the betting patterns of your opponents through each street. Follow all hands to the river to see what they have bet and how strong their hand actually was. This information becomes invaluable the longer you play with a particular opponent, as you will be able to correlate their betting with their hole cards.

About the author: Daniel L. Cox is the editor of Poker Insider Magazine, an e-zine dedicated to poker. He is also the award-winning author of “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em: How to Play Low-limit Ring Games and Small Buy-in Tournaments” and four upcoming books on poker. He can be found on Twitter at PokerInsiderMag, where he gives you a daily poker quote.

Tags: Card Games, free poker, hold em, hold em poker, holdem, online poker, play poker, poker, poker rules, poker strategy, poker tips, texas hold em, Texas hold'em, texas holdem poker
Posted in Card Games · November 14th, 2009 · Comments (0)

To Slow Play or Not to Slow Play: Advanced Betting Techniques in Texas Hold’em Poker – Part 1 of 3

Winning poker comes down to being able to squeeze a profit out of marginal situations. The object is not to win every hand played, but to win every hand you play. The best way to do this is to out bet your opponents. Every bet made should have a purpose. Either it is made to induce a weaker hand to fold, or it is made to maximize the winnings on the hand.

Since there are many opportunities to outplay your opponents, you have to know which opponents you can outplay. It is difficult to finesse weak players. The slow play often backfires because one of the loose limpers will hit a hand. The bluff does not work, since these players call with any two cards. The following sections demonstrate many of the advanced aspects of the game and how best to play them.

The Art of the Slow-play

To slow-play is to intentionally under-bet in order to disguise the strength of your hand and attempt to trap an opponent with a weaker hand. The slow-play is effective against both strong and weak opponents, unlike the bluff. Bad opponents simply bet their hand, so if they have something or they are simply on a draw, they are going to pay you off.

You should not slow-play when there is a flush or straight draw on the board. You should only do so when your opponent has a poker hand that is not likely to improve enough to beat yours. Suppose the flop is AD-7H-KC and you hold 7D-7C, and you put your opponent on an Ace or King. In this instance, it is usually more profitable to bet the hand aggressively on the turn. This way you can get at least one extra large bet by letting your opponent make the initial raise for you.

The flop is the main round to use the slow-play. On subsequent betting rounds, your opponents give you action for one of two reasons: Either they improved their hand on the next street and their hand is now worth betting, or they think their mediocre hand is good because you did not show strength the previous round.

You are sacrificing an opportunity to make money on the turn if you slow-play then. The only reason to slow-play on the turn is if your read on your opponent(s) is that they will fold with any bet you make. If this is the case, then it may be worth checking to see if you can get a bet from them on the river. Winning a pot with one round of betting in it is better than winning one with no money in the pot.

Some players want to slow-play a monster hand on the turn so they can make the big raise on the river. This is another example of trying to be too complex in betting. Because of their desire to raise on the river, they slow-play the turn and forgo an opportunity to make good money from several opponents. On the river, these plays usually end up isolating a single remaining opponent, who may or may not call a raise.

While another player is thinking of the big river raise, you should concentrate on building the pot at every opportunity when you have the premium hand. Do not attempt fancy slow-plays. They often cost you money from missed betting opportunities or from your opponent hitting a hand on the turn or river.

When Not to Slow-Play

If you should hit quads or a full house, do not over play the hand. If your opponents are playing out of position, they frequently do not bet the turn or river, instead they check or call. If you slow-play the turn, this type of opponent does not start throwing in raises and re-raises. Therefore, just keep betting as you normally would on the turn, despite the improvement. People will rarely put you on quads, so try to get some action on the turn by betting somewhat conservatively. Do not stop playing your style of play and slow-play when you have a great hand. That becomes an easy tell to spot and makes your play predictable.

Remember that the act of betting does not automatically give your hand away. This is especially true if you have been constantly changing gears and mixing up your table image throughout the gaming session. Also, never overlook the fact that another player with an inferior hand may slow-play the flop with the intent to open up on the turn. Letting them do so allows you to hide the strength of your hand when they do raise or re-raise. As with the bluff, the slow play is not as useful in limit poker as it is in no-limit. With only a small bet, most players that are going to stay in the hand will do so for at least one additional bet.

Representing Your Hand

A strong bet can represent a strong hand. This is especially true when betting after the flop. If an Ace or King shows on the flop, you can represent an Ace or King in your hand by betting. Often, it is what you represent that is more important than what you actually have, especially if you have put your opponent on a medium or weak hand.

About the author: Daniel L. Cox is the editor of Poker Insider Magazine, an e-zine dedicated to Texas Hold’em poker. He is also the award-winning author of “Winning Blue-Collar Hold’em: How to Play Low-limit Ring Games and Small Buy-in Tournaments” and three upcoming books on poker. He can be found on Twitter at PokerInsiderMag, where he gives you a daily pokerism.

Tags: Card Games, no limit hold'em, poker, poker betting strategy, poker books, poker hands, poker rules, poker strategy, premium hands in poker, Texas hold'em, top ten, winning poker
Posted in Card Games · November 9th, 2009 · Comments (0)