Member Tips and Strategies - its better to keep ones mouth closed and appear dumb Anonymous - 05.02.2007, 23:52 Post subject: its better to keep ones mouth closed and appear dumb
I need help, and I need it now! Years ago I was an excellent seven card stud poker player. My skills got so good that players avoided my table. Now it’s all hold’em, hold’em, hold’em. What can I do? By the way, how do I tell a tell?”
Well, Stud Guy, let’s talk about tells first.
My first reply to you was: “As for tells — I say forget about them. The best players only give false ones, and the bad players are going to lose their chips to you anyway!”
It’s not quite that simple, actually. Tells, of course, are any action, expression or comment by an opponent that might tip you off whether he’s holding a strong or weak hand. Most players have several, and if you’re observant enough to “read” a player’s tells accurately, it can really pay off.
However, the first part of my answer still holds true. In a big tournament against top-notch players, I usually don’t bother looking for tells. These guys don’t give much away. Worse, just when you think you’ve spotted something and try to take advantage of it, boom — you go bust because they tricked you.
Instead of watching for a player’s shaky hand or rapid blinking, pay attention to betting patterns and showdowns, especially when you’re not in the hand. Did he raise before the flop? How much? Does he like to check a powerful hand and then raise after someone else bets? How often does he bluff?
Bottom line: Against elite players, it’s more important to avoid your own tells than it is to look for them in others.
PokerGuru - 06.02.2007, 00:03 Post subject: I can tell that you are gonna be one of our sharpest poker team members, BL4DES, for the simple reason that you automatically have good thinking skills!
Thanks for sharing that nifty reasoning with the rest of all PCers!
Your GuruAnonymous - 06.02.2007, 01:35 Post subject:
As my last post suggests this works fine in tourney games,
BUT the opposite often is true in a typical low-limit game in a card room. Normally about half of the players at your table will have an obvious tell, such as acting weak when they’re strong or vice versa. Watch out for the player who seems distracted by the game on TV. He may want you to think he’s disinterested in his hand when actually he’s got a powerhouse.
Betting patterns can be a helpful tell against amateurs, too. Some players will raise from last position no matter what they have. It’s pretty easy to trap them into betting their weak cards and then putting in a raise to take the pot. Sometimes you can pull this off without a good hand.
BL4DES
ALW - 20.02.2007, 22:33 Post subject:
Thank you, very well explained
Alan