Poker Terms to know:

• Under the Gun – First person to act pre-flop. (Person after big blind)
• Middle Position – 2nd to 5th after BB.
• Late position – anything after middle position, right back round to the dealer button.
• Full-Ring – This means the table is full, it has 10 players.
• Short-handed – Fewer players, ~5 or 6.

Under the Gun.

You really cannot limp with anything shy of a good poker hand. How do you know what a ‘good’ hand is in this particular situation? Put it this way: is this the sort of hand that you’d call a raise with?

A lot of players at FullTiltPoker and other poker strategy articles will tell you not to limp, at all. I can’t agree with this strategy whole heartedly; to the contrary, I feel a call (under the gun) of moderate suited connectors is usually not a waste of money. The underlying principle is that because there are so many players still to act, it’s more likely that a raise will occur and you’ll be forced to muck your mediocre hand.

Middle Position.

Generally, raise with pockets over 7’s, and any AJ or higher (AJ, AQ, AK). Of course, you must also keep in mind (when raising) who has already called. Note how many callers have called before you. If there aren’t any, raising with your big Ace is not so strongly advised. You still want to see the flop.

Late Position.

Again, you must observe the number of callers prior to you. Are there a lot of limpers? Play your weaker hands.

As a general rule, you must remember that small blind and the other early positions are the worst positions to be in, and the dealer is always the best seat. (last to act.) You must also understand though, that there are large advantages in acting and betting first – it is much harder to call a bet, than it is to make one.

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.