Today I am going to digress from my usual article format and discuss one of the most common questions my students ask me: “What tips do you have on how to get better at catching poker tells in live play?” This is what this two-part article series will be all about. My previous articles we focused on lots of tells to look for at the table. Today, I am going to give tips on how to improve observational skills. It’s one thing to know the tells, but it does not help if the tells can’t spot when playing poker live.
What’s great about human behavior is that a person can literally practice these skills every moment of the day, whether playing poker or not. Poker tells are not limited to poker, they are the same tells encountered on the bus, at the workplace, in a bar, or when having a nice dinner with friends. We call them poker tells because they happen at the table, but in reality they are “human tells”. They happen all the time, and in every part of our lives. If we are uncomfortable in a situation, whether playing poker, or for example, talking to a cute girl in a bar, we will show the same signs of this discomfort. If we are stressed out because we are going to a job interview or because we’ve just bluffed our entire stack at the final table of a big tournament, we will leak that stress the same way.
So today I’m going to give three tips on improving observational skills right away, and in part 2 of this series I will be discussing books and other products anyone can use to really take a giant leap in poker tells reading ability.
Tip No 1 – Observation Galore
What is important to understand, is that you should be practicing poker tells reading skills every day whether when playing poker, in a social situation, or even watching television. Be on the lookout for a subject’s subtle body shifts, facial expressions, hand, and arm or leg movements and most importantly, try to notice if these sudden gestures were triggered by an external event, such as a comment from someone else that could have rattled the subject. So when a person suddenly massages or distances herself, or shows a micro-expression of contempt or disgust, try to ask what might have warranted this behavior. What was said or what happened to trigger this?
When playing at the table, a good way to practice is to test yourself when not involved in a hand. Take a step back and try to figure out if a player is weak or strong. Watch every hand shift and subtle movements and try to determine if that gesture is a sign of comfort or discomfort. And then make an assessment on the strength of the player’s hand.
Tip No 2 –Watch Television
Probably the way to improve your observational skills at the poker table is to watch television (not while playing :-)). And the best shows to watch are reality TV shows. The reason these shows are the best to watch is that they feature real people in real situations, and are very often full of uncomfortable and stressful moments. So, as observers, we get to see genuine reactions. Now whether you personally enjoy some reality programs or not, remember this- these people are experiencing something real. I’ve often said that there are two requisites for great body language leakage: high pressure and high potential gain.
Take Survivor for example, one of my favorite programs. Participants are playing for a million dollars, and have to survive being voted off by the other competitors. Since the players have to outlast and outwit each other, many of them choose to lie and try to manipulate, leading to multiple situations where the pressure is intense. Add to that the fact that if a person is voted off the tribe, he loses a chance to win a million bucks and you have a great recipe for spotting non-verbal displays of discomfort and stress.
What is also interesting about reality shows is that, most of the time, it is possible to know what the participant is thinking, gage their level of interest and if they are telling the truth or not. This means that you will be able to validate your skills and trust your read the next time you are at the table playing poker.
Here’s a list of my favorite shows, at least when it comes down to catching body language displays:
- Take The Money And Run (great show about deception and high stakes –this is the one to watch)
- Survivor & Big Brother (lots of lying and deception)
- The Bachelor & The Bachelorette (I know, I know, :-) but man these are great., especially the rose ceremony at the end of each shows – full of stress )
- Real cops shows like The First 48 (watch the suspect interviews)
- Shark Tank (in US) & Dragon’s Den (UK, Canada) (lots of discomfort from entrepreneurs)
- Interview shows like Dateline & 60 Minutes (discomfort from interviewees when they are faced with tough questions)
I know that for me, watching a lot of these shows was a huge boost to my non-verbal reading ability. I highly recommend them.
Tip No 3 – Look in the Mirror
In order to make big progress in understanding body language, the best thing anyone can do is to study yourself. Watch your every move, and most importantly, try to notice how you feel when displaying a gesture of discomfort or stress. The best person to validate your observational skills as every day passes is you. For example, try to notice any sudden massaging, like of the back of the neck, and ask yourself if it was a stressful moment. If you flash your eyebrows, make a mental note of your state of mind and double check that it was a positive and happy experience. These are the questions you should be asking when you display any of the tells. I’ve been writing about in this column. No one can validate these like you.
In the second part of this article, I will discuss my favorite authors, websites and products any player can use to really take it to the next level. Stay tuned!
