In Poker, the most important thing is understanding people. Getting a good hand surely can help, but your success will largely depend on how good you are in judging your opponent. You have to be aware of the psychological side of the game. Observe the body language. Ask any Pro player and they will tell you that these skills are of paramount importance.

Do your opponents become nervous whenever they are unsure of themselves? Do they notice when you bluff? Betting high when they have a good hand? Playing slow? There are many signs like these which must be observed at a Poker game. You have to be aware that you opponents will scrutinize you just as well, trying to take a peek into your soul, trying to read your mind and get to know your intentions.

In Poker lingo, these signals called “Tells”. There are some of them that you can actually control, for example acting uninterested in a hand while still in it, staring down at others, glancing at the chips, taking a long time before calling a bet and so on. Most of the tells are unconscious physiological signals, like rapid breathing, shaking hands, sweating, sighing, holding breath. You can’t control these, except when you’re good at Zen meditating. Experienced players will most definitely give out false tells so beware. They most definitely won’t be able to control these reactions.

The following general rule can be applied to tell: Weak means strong, strong means weak. This means that players who hold weak hands attempt to convince other players that they are strong, and vice versa. Players who hold strong hands tend to try to disguise their hand as being weak.

The best way to improve your tell-spotting skills is to read books on body language, psychology, and stress. Of course it is all different in the online world of Poker games where you cannot observe other players directly. However certain things about their playing style will be more obvious, for example speed of play and betting patterns can be particularly revealing online. If someone who has been playing slowly suddenly starts making bets quicker as soon as it is his turn is typical online pokers tell.

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