3 Tips to Improve Your Poker Play


by Nigel B. - Date: 2007-02-02 - Word Count: 520 Share This!

Is it true that in poker, players actually can give away information about their hand without saying a word or using their body language to show tells? Yes. You may be saying, "Well, how is this possible? I thought that tells usually are given away by body language or by a players speech?" This is not always the case. The timing of your bets, calls and raises may be giving away more information than you think.

The time that you take to bet, call or raise in poker can be considered a tell. Most players know this and try to use it to their advantage. For instance, if a player is in a situation where they are really strong or even have the nuts they will sometimes put on an academy award winning performance as if to say, "Oh, wow, you got me!" They will usually take a long period of time to decide their next move when in reality, they know that they have the best hand or have their opponents beat.

Timing could also work in the reverse when a player is representing a better hand than they really have. For instance, someone may bet, raise or re-raise an opponent and seconds afterward the opponent will act as if they are strong by calling or maybe even going all in.

These types of poker plays are classic examples of the old adage of poker, when someone is weak they act strong and if someone is strong they will act weak. More often than not, if you are playing with an experienced player they will pick up on this type of tell and use it to crush you at the right moment!

Well there is a solution and if used correctly you will drive your opponents up the wall!

When it is your turn to act (bet, raise, call or fold) take exactly the same amount of time to make your decisions.

It's almost impossible to read someone that does the same thing every time they get their cards. Think about it, if you were sitting across from someone that took the same amount of time to look at their cards, to bet, to fold or to raise what type of true read could you get from them? Not a very good one.

So here are a few tips for concealing your tells and not giving away vital information:

Tip 1: Only look at your cards once. This may take some practice for novice players but it will be well worth it when you get this mastered.

Tip 2: Take your time in every decision you make and make sure it's the same amount of time. This works great in serious tournaments. If you're in a weekly game or a cash game for fun you may not want the game slowed by using this tip.

Tip 3: After you decide to bet, call, raise or re-raise, pick an area to stare at and stay completely still. No need to answer opponents' questions or to smile or smirk at jokes.

If you follow these 3 tips you will drive your opponents crazy and be on your way to playing decent poker.


Related Tags: poker, poker strategy, poker tips

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