Tells: The Encyclopedia of the Poker Mind

There are many different ways to play poker, and it is beneficial to all of us to find a style with which we are comfortable. Whatever your style might be, it will not serve you well to execute perfect poker strategy during a hand and then blow it by revealing your hand strength by giving off a tell. Not working on this could have disastrous effects on your poker game.



Many players never get rattled or upset during a hand, which is an excellent way to be sure that no tells are broadcast. Many conduct themselves in an exemplary manner when it comes to controlling their emotions in order not to give any free info away. Some of them are naturals, while others have worked very hard to get better at it. This is a well-planned attempt to mask their hand strength, not an accident.



I am not the voice of enlightenment when it comes to controlling emotions at the table. Players who wear their emotions on their sleeves will not be very successful at fooling opponents. Players with good instincts will exploit this and pick up some of your bluffs. Playing when tired or stressed also will foster this ineffectiveness. What I can enlighten you about is that if you are one of these players, there are ways that you can change the things you do at the table to help mask and control these emotional tells. A good poker face may not be enough. You need to calm the emotional thoughts that cause you to unravel, before they surface. You can eliminate them at their roots, even before they become thoughts. Just take a few deep breaths and find a place where you can remain calm and maintain poise. This will help legitimize your hand in the eyes of your opponent, whether you have the goods or not. Personally, I go to the place in my mind where my last thought passed, and before the new one begins. I focus on my breathing until my opponent's scrutiny of me has ceased. The longer he stares, the longer I focus on my breathing. Meditation is personal, so although this works for me, you may need to explore a bit to find your own suitable calming technique.



Since I mentioned the word technique, it is also a great idea to have a strategy that will ritualize the way you conduct yourself during a hand. A pro who comes to mind is Chris Ferguson. His success is by no means accidental. He is cool and calculating, and doesn't leave much to chance. Because of the way he wears his hair, he looks like Jesus, which just happens to be his nickname. Perhaps he uses this nickname in an attempt to gain your trust. You might think that's a bit of a stretch, but do you think he would be as credible if he were Chris "The Hippy" Ferguson? He always waits his turn to act before he even looks at his cards, so no one has a clue (even himself) if he is playing the hand. Then, in classic Ferguson tradition, the cards are placed squarely on the table, a chip is put on top of them for protection, and his hands are placed near his chin as he stares straight ahead in a very pensive manner. Does this picture look like a man holding 7-2 offsuit? Nope. It resembles a man with a good hand and lots of confidence as he announces his intention to raise. And if this isn't enough to deal with, you are left staring at a foolproof image of a poker player giving away nothing, wearing a big black hat to cover most of his forehead, dark glasses to cover his eyes, and a beard to cover up any facial expressions. If you can get a read off that, please send me an e-mail.



Lastly, unless you have very good verbal skills, always remain as silent as possible. Why give off any info about your hand when the tiniest voice inflection might give you away? Jerry Yang benefited from some misguided verbal exchanges, causing him to call correctly when he may have folded if his opponent had remained silent. Remember when Raymond Rahme had reraised Yang preflop with K-K and Jerry called him with A-5, and an ace hit the flop? Rahme check-raised all in with his 36 million in chips and looked very convincing that he was holding A-K. Jerry had 41 million and was faced with a very difficult call until Rahme spoke. You could see in Jerry's face that he was now more willing to make the call. How huge was that information — obtained from a tell?! In 2006, Jamie Gold was adept at soliciting calls and folds. Sometimes he would say he was bluffing, while other times he would say he was not. He always seemed to know when to do it, but how did he know which players to tell he was bluffing and which ones to tell he was not? Very intuitive players might see through this, but I have to give Jamie credit for a job well done on getting inside his oppenents' heads. Unless you can pull this off in a consistent manner, refrain from doing so and remain silent. Trust me, if you work on this, your tournament results will improve. Here are the top 10 ways to pick up and cover up tells:

10. Pay attention to physical tells such as premature folding, glances back toward the chips, or a variance in ritual that might tip you off that something is different.

9. Unless you possess great verbal skills, just stare at the pot throughout the entire duration of a stare-down, without making eye contact or speaking.

8. Learn the art of giving false signals in order to obtain positive results.

7. When up against a novice who is not receiving your false signals, use ploys that he may more readily understand, such as pretending to be nervous, an occasional gulp, or whatever it takes to help him make a bad call.

6. When up against an intimidating pro who rarely gives up any information, be willing to call him with only strong hands until your reading skills are commensurate with his.

5. Always try to exude a level of confidence about yourself and the contents of your hand when entering a pot.

4. Always try to place your bets into the pot the same way, so that you do not inadvertently tip off hand strengths or weaknesses.

3. Always try to have the same ritual when entering a pot with a raise, so as not to give your opponents any tells from your mannerisms.

2. It never hurts to accessorize at the table by wearing sunglasses, crazy hats, ugly shirts, or anything that can be used to cover up those revealing tells and help distract your opponents into revealing some of theirs.

1. If all else fails, wear a loose jacket like Kenna James did in the 2005 WSOP main event against Howard Lederer, and zip it up over your head during a stare-down. (You might look silly, but who cares, as long as it works?)



"Miami" John Cernuto has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, ranks ninth in all-time WSOP cashes, and has more than 90 tournament wins and more than 600 cashes.