Common Poker Tells

Being able to read other poker players and picking up their tells will give you a huge advantage over your opponents. Making a correct read could mean making a great laydown or bluffing your way to a big pot.

(1) A Shaking Hand

This tell is very common for newer poker players. It
occurs when the player bets. There hand will shake when they put their chips
out. This is not an intentional tell... and it almost ALWAYS means a huge hand.
They have hit big and are excited.

(2) Checking Their Chips

This is another very common poker tell. Right
after the flop, a player glances down at their chips. It's very quick and
subtle... to catch it, you have to be watching the players eyes right when the
flop comes out. It means they connected.

(3) Staring Through the Flop

This is the opposite of the above tell. If
a player glances at their chips when they hit big, then they will often stare at
the flop when they miss. If a player is looking at the flop like he's trying to
find some sort of hand in there, it means he missed.

(4) Checking Their Holecards

This occurs most often in texas holdem when
a flop comes out all of the same suit. The player checks their holecards. They
are checking to see if one of their cards matches the suit on the board. It
usually means that their cards aren't suited, and that they do NOT have the
flush... but they may well have a flush-draw.

(5) Asking for Clarification

Anytime you hear a poker player ask the
dealer for clarification, it usually means they have a big hand. Questions like
"My bet?", "How much is it to me?", or "What's the bet?" usually indicate a
strong hand.

(6) Rudeness

Anytime a player is rude to you right after a bet, it
almost always means a big hand... they are trying to piss you off enough to call
them.

(7) Being Polite

The opposite of the above tell, anytime a person seems
nice or polite to you right after a bet, they are probably bluffing.

(8) Choppy Conversation

If a player is having a conversation during a
poker hand and his talk is choppy, as if his mind is on something else, it
usually means he is not too confident in his hand. This correlates to a weak
poker hand.

(9) Smooth Conversation

Conversely, if a player is talking without
missing a beat while in a hand, it means he is not overly concerned about the
hand he is playing. This is because he feels comfortable and usually means a big
hand.