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Being Able To Read Your Opponent When Playing Poker

Published by admin on June 24, 2025

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I will be outlining several ways on how you can read your opponents at the table. Poker is a game blended with a mix of psychology, strategy, and just plain being smart. Because of this, poker is a unique game.

Strategy is the single most important aspect of poker. You can win at poker without the best psychology skills, but it is essential to know your strategy and execute it properly. It is important that get to know the fundamentals of poker first. After you are capable of learning the fundamentals, you will be far more capable of being a good player as far as strategy is concerned.

In the following section we will also show you how the very power good poker psychology skills posses when utilized properly. There are several 'tells' you will be able to pick-up on at the table, or even when playing online. 'Tells' are the subtle (sometimes not so subtle) hints other players display subconsciously (sometimes on purpose) that can help you determine what kind of hand they are holding. You will definitely want to observe the body language of the other players, as well as verbal hints and betting habits.

Unfortunately, tells aren’t easily recognizable when you are playing poker online, whether it’s one of the few remaining US poker sites or any of the hundreds of international websites. Unless you are playing with a webcam, you can only go on a few things like the player’s statistics and tendencies.

For the most part, 'tells' will come in two varieties:

Tells from the players who are unaware that they are even giving away hints.
Tells from the players who do know they are giving up hints. This is meant to throw you off track.

Knowing this, you will need to figure out which type of 'tell' your opponents are. When playing against multiple opponents you will need to determine which type of player each is. Not everyone at the table will be the same type of 'tell'.

If you determine that the person is in fact an 'actor' or giving up hints on purpose, you will want to figure out what it is the layer want you to do, and then you should do the exact opposite.

Most likely, the other players are 'acting' in order to keep the contents of their hand a secret. Some players do not know exactly how to do this. Because of this, you will find that most beginners or bad players are not successful because they simply do not know how to hide their hands. They do not know how to react without dropping a hint, or they simply overreact in order to conceal a bad and, vice versa.

The best way to go about determining the validity your opponents hints is to study the following list we provide of the most commonly used 'tells'.

Beginner/Intermediate Poker Player Tells

Fidgeting – When a player is fidgeting it is usually not an act. You will find that some players can be very impatient ones. For example, you will no doubt come across this situation, a player will be drumming their fingers on the table, they place their wager, they continue to drum their fingers. Right when you go to call the bet of even reach for your chips, they stop drumming.

What does this type of behavior mean? Basically, this means that the person is bluffing. A nervous player is usually a player with a bad hand. Bottom line, if you have a great hand, you are going to more relaxed.

Staring – If it is your turn to place a bet and another player is staring at you, they are most likely acting. Think of it as some type of dare. Nine out of ten times they are trying to intimidate you. They are trying to get you to not bet, or fold. In this situation, you will find that the player who is staring at you will probably stay in the game (call), but they don't raise a bet. If this is going on, you now know that you can bet any somewhat strong hand without the fear of being raised.

If someone is staring at you, turn the tables on them. Don't be threatened, just remember that you stand to profit from this situation, even if you are holding a marginal hand.

Hands that tremble – A shaking hand is hard to fake, or at least a realistic one is. Some players will tell you that this is always a sign of bluffing. That idea is not necessarily a good one. Most players to not act in order to show nervousness. More times than not, the player has a very good hand. The player probably has the best hand at the table, they are just letting-go of the tension that they have built-up trying to make the hand, now that they have made the hand, they are simply letting-go of the built-up anticipation they had.

Some opponents will always be nervous, and they will shake with basically any type o had. This type of player will be easy to figure out after just a few hands. You really want to take notice of the player that just starts to shake all of the sudden.

Sadness in speech – This type of behavior is usually an act. A player who displays such sadness is most always going over-the-top to mislead you into thinking they have a bad and.

Shrugs – Shrugs are very similar to sadness in speech. If a player sighs, they are just trying to lead you away from the fact that they have a great hand.

Breathing patterns – A player that displays a change in breathing patterns isn't usually faking it. This is a more subconscious behavior. This type of behavior is better noticed if you are sitting near the player. If close, you will often times be able to hear the change in breathing. If you are on the other side of the table, just be on the look-out for subtle changes in chest movement. Do not get this confused with obvious sighs (if they are obvious, they are bluffing).

It is important to remember that players who make strong hands are more likely to become more nervous and excited, hence they will breath faster. Players who are bluffing and don't have a great hand, are more likely to try and hide their breathing. This sometimes causes them to stop breathing, this will be easy for you to see.

Looking away – If a player looks away from game play, this is more than likely an act. If a player looks away from you, they are typically more dangerous than the player that looks right at you.

If you see someone looking away from the game, as if to be distracted, be careful. Really, in this case, there are only two things that could be going on. 1. The player is not interested – so why risk it. The player

Misdirected bets – This type of bet is a total act. If there are three or more players left in the game, you can count on your opponent to be more worried about the player who seems to have the best hand. If that player is you (based on what your opponent can tell by reveled cards), you will be the main focus here.

Now, if your opponent focuses on another (who doesn’t seem to be a threat) player and not you, that is a misdirected bet.

This usually means that your opponent is trying to distract you. They are trying to turn your attention somewhere else. If you can’t see some sort of threat in the hand they are focusing on, you can assume it is a bluff. Don’t second guess your hand here.

How a player reacts to their hand

Too much emphasis – When a player puts too much emphasis on betting, it is usually theatrics. You will find that this is one of the very hardest ‘tell’ to spot. Because we are not talking about the obvious exaggerated bet, you will have to focus on this one to be able to see it. The obvious bets are usually a lure to make you stay in the game. Sometimes they’re used to make you fold. As we said, these are easy to spot.

You will want to focus on the more underlying hints. You will want to observe the end of the bet. If it is a smooth bet with a small emphasis ( i.e.: movement of the fingers after putting money in), the player is probably not confident with their hand.

If you see this type of betting behavior, stay in the game.

Reaching for chips / money – If you observe other players grabbing or reaching for there chips or money in anticipation of another player’s bet, it is usually an act. One thing to realize here is that beginners and inexperienced players tend to reach for their chips or money before there turn to bet when they have a good hand. More seasoned players don’t usually do this.

If you have a so-so hand and you are entertaining the though of betting it, watch to see if anyone else reaches for their chips or money while you are making your move to bet. If so, the player doing it is probably trying to bluff you into not betting. Don’t be distracted, make the bet.

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