Using Tells ... Reverse tells, that is!

The way I define a poker tell is: A detectable reaction your opponent has when they realize what their hand is. Tells can be subtle (a momentary pupil dilation when another player likes what he sees); or profound (a heavy sigh and headshake, followed by a huge bet … which indicates a monster hand). But most poker-playing tell experts will admit that much of the time there’s a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it quality to detecting tells. The immortal Doyle Brunson says that evolution has provided us with this skill; it kept our caveman-era ancestors from wandering into the wrong place where a bear was waiting to devour them. (Given his age, perhaps he knows this firsthand.) You ignore these hunches at your own peril.

Detecting tells is a valuable skill to have. Numerous books have been written on it. But giving off false tells can be even more useful … if your audience is attentive, and can process what they’re seeing.

I was playing a $3/$5 cash game and had around $700 in front of me. The table was pretty passive preflop, with lots of limpers and callers seeing every flop. This hand was no different. I was in the big blind. The player on my left (who was first to act) had a stack of around $400. He led out with a raise for $20. It was a bit unusual to see a preflop raise in this table; but what happened next wasn't at all unusual, which was watching five other players call. I looked down at the KsTd. I had a $5 chip already in play, so it would only cost me $15 more to enter a pot that had $125 in it. King/Ten offsuit is not a good hand, but the pot odds were irresistible. I tossed in three more red chips, and seven of us saw the flop.

The dealer spread As Qd 9h. I had a gutshot straight draw, but I couldn’t see going any further with this hand if the flop was bet into. The small blind checked, and I checked behind. The next player to act, the one on my left, was the initial raiser. He put together a handful of chips as if to bet … but at the last minute, he checked also. The rest of the table also checked, so we got to see a free turn card.

Yahtzee! The turn was the Jc, so now I had the nut straight. This time after the small blind checked, I assembled a bet of around $75 and slid it across the bet line. Now, the UTG player came alive, raising my bet to $175. The remaining field quickly folded, and action was back to me.

I had the nut hand. There was no flush possibility. I was ahead of every other possible holding. My only risk was if my opponent had a set or two pair, he could fill up on the river. I saw that my opponent only had around $250 left behind, so I went ahead and put him all-in.

My opponent tanked. He knew he was dead to a ten (unless he had one too). Did I have one? He was trying to figure that out.

Then I went into acting mode. I took my hand and put it over my mouth. Tell experts will say that players will do this when they are bluffing. Bluffing, after all, is a form of lying. Humans aren’t hard-wired to lie. So a mouth-to-the-hand gesture is sort of saying, “I just said something that wasn’t true. Don’t ask me to say it again.”

I followed this up by gently rubbing the side of my head. Again, another strong tell. When players are nervous, they will “hug” themselves as a way of making themselves feel better. I’ve seen opponents rub the back of their neck, their shoulder, even their arm. They do it when they’re weak, and worried about what might happen next.

My opponent tripped all over himself calling my shove. I turned over my straight, and he turned over Ad Qs, for top two pair. The river was a brick, and my opponent was down to the felt, and reaching into his wallet for a re-buy. I’m convinced it was my acting job that earned the call.

The only other comment to make about this had has to do with the player’s flop check. Clearly, it was a huge mistake. He started to assemble a bet with his top two pair, but at the last minute checked, obviously hoping for the opportunity of a check-raise. It didn’t happen, and he gave away any chance of taking down the pot. Had he bet, I would have folded. Lesson: Don’t slowplay your monster hands out of position.