An unconscious poker tell is a tell that a player will expose when they think you’re not looking… they won’t even know they’re doing it.

Impatience

Tapping the poker table

There are two people left in a pot, yourself and Player X. You’re first to act, you check and then Player X bets. He then starts tapping the table. Most players confuse this poker tell if they notice it: they think, he’s being impatient because he’s bluffing and just wants to claim this pot. Wrong. He doesn’t even notice that he’s tapping the table, and, in fact, he’s got a very strong hand. In these instances, even with a strong hand, you should only call. (Or fold)

Shuffling hole cards

If you notice this after a player has bet, it’s essentially the exact same poker tell as above. Pass, or only call – don’t raise.

Guarding hole cards.

A lot of players do this. I did it myself before becoming aware that this actually gave away information. Take a look around the table on www.PokerStars.com at various stages of hands to see who exhibits this tell – you’ll probably spot it on 50% of all poker players. It’s apparently an intrinsic part of human nature to cover or ‘protect’ things that are of value to us… including cards.

Covering of mouth.

This is more commonly seen in amateur players. As a ploy to hide their face, they’ll raise their hand to their mouth – subconsciously believing that this will aid in them pulling off their bluff. If you see a player do this, don’t hesitate to call with bottom or a medium pair. Be careful when utilizing this tell; a lot of players may naturally raise their hands to their mouth regularly & obviously they’re not going to be bluffing each time they do this. Take note of which players do this frequently, as this tell cannot be applied to them.

Quiet = Bluff.

A player’s usually talking, laughing and just being generally obnoxious… Now, they’re actively betting into a poker pot and have suddenly fallen silent. What does this usually tell you? Well, the player’s trying not to instigate a call by angering anybody else. Basically, they’re limiting their moves and avoiding drawing attention to themselves while bluffing. A good way to help recognize this tell FullTilt.com is by asking the player a simple question. Even just “how was Melbourne’s football game on the weekend, hey?” – if the person would usually flow with an answer, and suddenly fumbles for words and can’t find a sentence to put together, they’re probably bluffing.

Talkative = Strong.

On the other hand, a poker player who casually talks about anything that interests them during a poker hand is probably not bluffing. To the contrary, it is more than likely that they’ll have a strong hand.

As a general rule for recognizing bluffs, you’ll need to analyze what sort of person the poker player is. When a player suddenly acts somewhat out of character, it’s highly likely that they’re bluffing or are weak. Remember that these tells aren’t gospel and will vary from player to player, and they’ll also be a lot more subtle with some players.

Chip Stacking

Neat, tidy chip-stack

These players are generally tight players. (Refer to my beginner’s guide to poker strategy for elaboration) They’re at FullTiltPoker to gamble, but not to lose their money. A player like this will usually fold if the odds are against them. This tell tells us two things:

1. We should scarcely enter a pot against this player with a mediocre or marginal poker hand.
2. This one is more important to us. A lot of players will actually stack their winnings separately for them to keep track of. Why does this help us? Well, when betting, we can bet more than this persons winnings and – given their nature – they’ll probably fold unless they’ve got a rock-solid hand. (Something you should probably deduce before trying to bet them out!)

Messy, scattered chip-stack.

This lets us know that the player is loose. They’re at FullTiltPoker.com to gamble, ready to splash some chips around and you can use this to your advantage. If a player is really this uncaring (sometimes you’ll find players in between) and their stack is all over the place, they’re literally a calling station. Just watch out for suckouts!

I just won a big pot.

I couldn’t really think of a fitting heading for this one… But anyway, this refers to when players have just won a big pot and still haven’t had time to stack their poker chips yet. More often than not, they’ll see their hole cards before stacking them and then splash some chips into the pot with a marginal hand – something you should be wary of. More so than that, if a player starts betting into a pot after they’ve just won one, then you should also know that in most cases they’re not bluffing. To the contrary, they’ll probably have quick a solid hand.

Poker’s about choosing your battles. It’s not always about outplaying your opponent; rather, choosing your points to outplay them. By knowing an opponents tells – that is, when an opponent may be bluffing or when they have a solid hand – is a great way to outplay your opponent. Not only will it aid you in betting opponents out of pots, but it’ll also help by giving you an insight as to when you should fold your hand.
Always keep this in mind when playing poker on PokerStar.net and trying to read another player: strong means weak, weak means strong

These are all predominately novice tells.

Acting uninterested while in a hand.
Indicates: Strength.

This is tricky because there are actually two different categories we can split this into. For the time being, we’ll leave it at the following: players who seem completely disinterested & players who take a glimpse at you and then, when you make eye contact, look away immediately probably have a solid hand – you should be wary and it’s in your best interest to lay it down.

Shaking Hands.
Indicates: Strength

This is an extremely novice tell. I don’t think I’ve seen any more-seasoned poker players do this… shaking hands is a sign of nervousness. When a player is exhibiting signs of nervousness in poker, be wary. It is commonly mistaken by poker players that this tell (and nervousness in general) is due to the player trying to run a bluff. 90% of the time, it’s not.

Faster Breathing.
Indicates: Strength

Rapid breathing is a big indicator of a strong hand. It’s obviously a lot harder to notice a poker player breathing more heavily than normal but, if you do, call with nothing short of a strong hand. This is another sign of nervousness and, as you’ll find it if you play enough, nervousness is typically a big sign of strength.

Glancing at chips.
Indicates: Strength (usually)

Be cautious here. If a player looks at his/her hole cards (or of course: the flop, turn or river) and then quickly glances at their stack whilst they think nobody’s looking, they’ve probably increased their hand-strength and will be looking to bet or raise.
Added note: Players may also quickly glance at your stack when they’re looking to bet or raise after improving hand strength. This is a more unreliable tell, and you probably shouldn’t bank on this poker tell – as it’s also been known for players to look at your stack to see how much they need to bluff in order to buy the pot.

Taking a long time to raise.
Indicates: Strength.

If you’ve just bet at a pot, and another player takes their time to think it over (seemingly calculating a raise) and then decides to perform the raise, you should probably back out unless you’ve got a solid hand. Players don’t usually act this one out – they’re thinking about the raise for a reason.

Checking hole cards again.
Indicates: Player holds a drawing hand.

Players who hold a drawing hand will typically double check their cards – just to make sure. For example: flop comes out 3 diamonds, you notice the two other players in the hand check their hole cards again. Keep in mind that most players won’t remember individual suits of their cards unless they’re suited, so they’re actually checking to see if they hold one diamond. From there, it’s really dependent on particular situation as to whether you check or try to take the pot down.

The big stare-down.
Indicates: Weakness!

Personally, I’ve never seen this tell outside of a free poker tournament. That said, it’s very reliable. If a player is staring you down in a seemingly confrontational manner, they probably have a weak hand. (Weak means strong, strong means weak) You should consider calling if you’ve paired the board.

Granted, this article hasn’t exactly covered a lot in the way of weak tells… but we’ll get to that later! Poker psychology is an extensive topic, and a lot of weak tells need to be elaborated upon individually. Stay tuned!