• PCF is an eBay Partner. If you make a purchase through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Live Tells (2 Viewers)

T

theedegen

Sitting Out
Joined
Jan 31, 2026
Messages
22
Reaction score
19
Rewards
60
Location
Tennessee
What's your most reliable live tell?


Mine is when inexperienced players look at the flop when the cards are dealt and then immediately look away, almost in an attempt to feign disinterest in the hand. I swear they have a monster quite frequently.
 
Could be a decent player that just doesn’t often play in the casino
 
CardRally said:
Inexperienced player. Gets monster. Adrenaline flows. Hands shake while handling chips.
Click to expand...
Huge one, and it's certainly not limited to inexperienced players. Some folks just never get control of that adrenaline no matter long they play.
 
One of my favorites is the shrug-bet; the person lifts his shoulders a little and possibly makes other parts of a full shrug gesture, before or during betting.

It's very similar to what Mike Caro describes in Caro's Book of Poker Tells as "pokerclack," when someone makes that disappointment sound of the tongue sucking against the roof of the mouth. Pokerclack is a classic weak-means-strong tell and is just about always done intentionally by the bettor. Same with the shrug-bet.

See also: bet plus an excuse.
 
Jimulacrum said:
Huge one, and it's certainly not limited to inexperienced players. Some folks just never get control of that adrenaline no matter long they play.
Click to expand...
I'm still relatively new and absolutely feel my heart beating super fast when I get a big hand. So I def have this tell lol
 
Jimulacrum said:
One of my favorites is the shrug-bet; the person lifts his shoulders a little and possibly makes other parts of a full shrug gesture, before or during betting.

It's very similar to what Mike Caro describes in Caro's Book of Poker Tells as "pokerclack," when someone makes that disappointment sound of the tongue sucking against the roof of the mouth. Pokerclack is a classic weak-means-strong tell and is just about always done intentionally by the bettor. Same with the shrug-bet.

See also: bet plus an excuse.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by bet plus an excuse?


Like saying "oh guess I gotta bet?"
 
Jimulacrum said:
One of my favorites is the shrug-bet; the person lifts his shoulders a little and possibly makes other parts of a full shrug gesture, before or during betting.

It's very similar to what Mike Caro describes in Caro's Book of Poker Tells as "pokerclack," when someone makes that disappointment sound of the tongue sucking against the roof of the mouth. Pokerclack is a classic weak-means-strong tell and is just about always done intentionally by the bettor. Same with the shrug-bet.

See also: bet plus an excuse.
Click to expand...
Yes! I was going to say this one. I’ve seen people tilt their hand up in a gesture that means meh, what the heck. And then they raise their AA, KK, or AK.
 
upNdown said:
Yes! I was going to say this one. I’ve seen people tilt their hand up in a gesture that means meh, what the heck. And then they raise their AA, KK, or AK.
Click to expand...
Yup. That little hand gesture is dead reliable in inexperienced players. (Can't say I've ever seen an experienced player do it.)
 

1000110485.webp
 
But I forgot the biggest, most reliable tell in all games - the min raise.

99.99% accurate. (Idiots who have no idea what they're doing are the only exception - but they are a walking tell anyway)
 
acezag said:
But I forgot the biggest, most reliable tell in all games - the min raise.

99.99% accurate. (Idiots who have no idea what they're doing are the only exception - but they are a walking tell anyway)
Click to expand...
are we talking river minraise? or any minraise?
 
The “bet/call+excuse” is very reliable for inexperienced players. They ways have something that they think a good and are subconsciously trying to hide their strength.

Usually this comes from a player who is comfy in the game. He thinks he’s cool and is saying something benign. A super brand new player would not usually try speech play.

Oh and a big bet timing tell. Player calls or bets fast or snap calls a bet.

Always a mid range hand or a draw. The player is putting the chips in fast w/o thinking. He wants you to forget he’s there and hide that he isn’t very strong.

A strong hand you would take a second to see what you’re gonna do. A crappy hand may take a second before you call or fold.
 
Jimulacrum said:
One of my favorites is the shrug-bet; the person lifts his shoulders a little and possibly makes other parts of a full shrug gesture, before or during betting.

It's very similar to what Mike Caro describes in Caro's Book of Poker Tells as "pokerclack," when someone makes that disappointment sound of the tongue sucking against the roof of the mouth. Pokerclack is a classic weak-means-strong tell and is just about always done intentionally by the bettor. Same with the shrug-bet.

See also: bet plus an excuse.
Click to expand...
Don’t forget the related sigh-bet.
 
Since I'm probably still a ways from playing with any of yous (meetup groups always seem pre-determined) ...
Watch the eyes.
Flop comes, eyes dart to their chips -- or yours. Strength. They're looking for an amount to bet and how much of it is in your stack.
Staring at one card on the board. That card worries them, such as looking at that Ace that always comes when you have Kings and get caller(s).
That's why when sunglasses were all the rage I'd wear them in better tournaments/higher stakes games. Only so I could close my eyes right after board cards came out for a few seconds to avoid giving info.
 
One I see a lot that's reliable in a lot of players is when they reach for chips before their turn. They are usually trying to deter a bet. It's not always that they are going to fold, sometimes they will make weakish calls when they do this, but you are almost never going to be raised by this player. So I usually take the opportunity to bet wider.

Playing limit poker, I remember there being a player that would reach for his chips on the flop, usually call flop, and then pretty reliably fold the turn unless he improved. I was able to almost play ATC against this villain reliably.
 
Update/Anecdotal evidence for this sigh/excuse tell, I saw one first hand this weekend.

Went to a home game this Friday, two guys to the flop heads up, I was not in the hand.

Player A sighs very clearly and then bets the flop small, gets called.

Turn comes he sighs again loudly and says "I guess I gotta go all in"

Gets called.

Player A flopped 2 pair and turned a Full House lol.

Seems like the sigh/excuse is a decent tell of serious strength for the right kind of player.
 
I played $1 - $3 last night @ Borgata and live tells helped very much vs. this field.

What comes to mind:

With AA on the button preflop I raise standard and get called in a few spots.
Flop is JQK 2 suits. I C bet.
I get sigh raised all in. I fold. No reveal but without the sigh all in I think I have an easy decision.
No regrets. There was other sigh calls or sigh raises where the result was expected.
I guess this doesn't count because no reveal?

I raise PF on the button with something blah like 89 off and get called by a guy on my left and maybe another. Flop is
K93 rainbow. I C bet and he rips it all-in pretty big. There isn't an obvious draw but I don't snap fold and he freezes. I wait and wait. There's some other movements and I land on "low confidence" and call. He shows AJ with a back door flush draw and my second pair is good. This is my general bible when thinking about physical tells: https://www.amazon.com/Phil-Hellmuth-Presents-Read-Reap-ebook/dp/B000MAH74K

--Diz
 
It's difficult to disguise the neck area without completely covering it, so that can be a pretty reliable spot to look.
 
This is a bit wishy washy but I've seen it.

Double checking cards vs NOT double checking cards.

- Double checking means weaker hand and or off suit
- NOT double checking means stronger hand, ie pocket pairs, suited, AK, AQ etc.

This can be tricky though because they could just be double checking if they ACTUALLY have quads :ROFL: :ROFLMAO:
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Register

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Similar threads

PokerDogDoc
PAHWM - 1/2 NLHE Deep Dive at Hollywood Casino St. Louis
2
Replies
50
Views
1K
PokerDogDoc
PokerDogDoc
Preditor
Did I make the right call here as a dealer?
2 3
Replies
70
Views
2K
WedgeRock
WedgeRock
sonofneeway
mucked or not???
Replies
22
Views
1K
thePokerClub
thePokerClub
Rooster410
Cash Game Live $1/$1 Game – Does Chip Selection Give Away Intent?
Replies
17
Views
975
PlaidDragon
PlaidDragon
D
Triple Action Poker – Three Boards, One Deal
Replies
10
Views
608
TikiTeddy
TikiTeddy
Back
Top Bottom