[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Silly:

See my most recent reply to Slotboom.

If what you are saying is true for you, it is my opinion that your card reading ability needs to get better. When that happens, you should discover that it is more accurate than tells, and thus the tells will technically lose much of their value.

However, this doesn't mean that you as an expert (soon to be) should disregard tells. They do add money to your winnings and over the long run it can become substantial.

Also, unique situations can certainly develop where the tells do have much more value than in general. An obvious example would be in a short handed game that features a very loose aggressive player who clearly through some mannerism indicates the strength of his hand.

Best wishes,
Mason