Sometimes tells are in plain sight but come and go as quickly as a blink or a quick smile.  FBI agents and other trained lie detectors like Robert De Niro’s character in Meet the Parents have developed an ability to spot them almost instantly.  For those of us without training this is an important skill to hone especially when transitioning from online poker to live poker.

There are all kinds of tells, some are simply pattern spotting, some are unabashed emotion which can’t be restrained or in some cases not even attempted to be restrained, some are false tells of actors, but according to this website, spotting a liar or a bluffer or simply reading people is best done by capturing the micro-expressions they emit that they can’t stop themselves from doing.

Ever notice when some beginning players have the nuts they are 100% strong.  The Mike Caro rule “Strong = weak, and weak = strong” does not apply to them.  They are confident they are going to win the hand and their whole demeanor is an advertisement of that fact.  Sometimes they might hold the Donkey Nuts, but most times they are sitting on a good hand.  They haven’t learned the skills necessary to suppress their emotions and are easy to read. 

Surprise, surprise, it’s a trait few can lose.  Refined players apparently are guilty of the same mistake, they just show their true colors in a quicker moment than the rest (maybe a half second at longest).  It might be a quick lip pucker of concern or a pupil dilation when they hit their card, but it’s there.  Did the eyes just narrow, as the river was an ugly card in Texas Hold’Em, pair that with a wrinkled nose and parted mouth and the player may be showing disgust.

Want to win the hand?  You probably can just by betting.  They don’t like what hit the board and are afraid they just got crushed.