What Tells From Home Game Beginners?

[CardBlunt]

Hi,

I have a regular home game - strictly a social event, $10 limit hold'em with blinds of 10c/25c. I started the game to include my fiancee in my poker hobby, as I play online and at tournaments quite a bit and I didn't want her to feel excluded. Apart from myself, noone has any prior poker experience - they all still regularly refer to hand rankings during the games.

As you might guess, this makes the games something of a lottery - as noone has any real idea of good or bad hands, I never know where I am and as such have resorted to playing tighter than usual (these guys are serious calling stations!)

Now I am never going to get rich here, but I am wondering what advice anyone has against such inexperienced players - as it seems quite different than playing against even slightly better players. I figure there's something to be learned here. In particular, what tells have you spotted in total beginners that might be useful?

CB

[gojacketz]

You probably don't need to concentrate on tells at this game (though they will definitely exist), you need to learn patterns if you are playing the same players over and over. These guys are gonna play the same hands the same way until they know any better.

Don't tighten up in these games, loosen up a bit. Read the Small Stakes forum, sounds like it is just up the alley of this game. There is some great stuff in there.

Gojacketz

[maryfield48]

[ QUOTE ]
You probably don't need to concentrate on tells at this game (though they will definitely exist), you need to learn patterns if you are playing the same players over and over. These guys are gonna play the same hands the same way until they know any better.

Don't tighten up in these games, loosen up a bit. Read the Small Stakes forum, sounds like it is just up the alley of this game. There is some great stuff in there.

Gojacketz

[/ QUOTE ]

Good advice if you want to crush the game. But in the circumstances I'm not sure if that's what you want to do. In that situation I don't want to play bad poker, and I do want to charge the draws etc. But maybe I play a few hands that I wouldn't normally and do a little more gambooling than I would amongst strangers.

And I wouldn't table coach. If it comes up, if someone asks why you played a certain way I'd tell them, but no unsolicited advice (I struggle to live up to that at my home game).

[CardBlunt]

[ QUOTE ]
And I wouldn't table coach. If it comes up, if someone asks why you played a certain way I'd tell them, but no unsolicited advice (I struggle to live up to that at my home game).

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah! Me too! Sometimes with these guys its hard to draw a line between explaining the rules and coaching though... Good advice nonetheless.

[warewulf]

As everyone will soon figure out, the only way to learn is to pay for lessons (losing). I've found some will win a few nights and get hooked. Some will figure out that they suck and stop playing. Generally people with out of control egos do not make good players because they can't fold. My ex-boss figured this out -- ex marine seargent etc. Just couldn't throw in a hand. Now he wont play. I think the trick is to keep things low limit so you don't burn people out. If people don't show up as often, stretch the games out -- bi-weekly instead of weekly.

As far as tells, I agree with previous posters -- better to concentrate on personalities. Some LOVE to bluff, others are tight as hell and wont be in w/o the nut. Other than that, the usual -- weak means strong, etc.

warewulf

[pukenpete]

Um, I'd follow what the other posters have said in terms of making general reads. Since this is a new game with new players, you don't want the perception that you're ultra-tight as this is a social gathering. One of the most basic things to do when playing life is just to watch ppl as they pick up their cards. You'd be amazed at the faces they make. When they bet or the cards fall on the table, again look at their eyes and pulses on the neck and forehead. Watch for shaking hands when the newbies bet. If you're really bored, check out Mike Caro's videos. Many of these things will not apply to your beginner game.

http://www.poker1.com/mcu/mculib_video.asp

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]
As everyone will soon figure out, the only way to learn is to pay for lessons (losing).

[/ QUOTE ]

That's horrible and is so untrue. It is true the you can certainly learn lessons by paying for them, but that is the farthest from the correct way to learn lessons on the poker table. If you don't care, at all, about the money sitting in front of you; then by all means...

The best way to learn your lessons is through preparation. Read/study poker books, continue to paticipate in discussion here at 2+2, play freeroll home games with buddies for the sake of hand discussion and sharing of concepts and stratigies; just to name a few. You may have to pay for some tings in poker (everyone does at one time or another) but why not make it as cheap as possible? Why not sit down at that home gamed as a well educated poker player? Because you don't want to tear up the game? Forget that. You buddies will not care if you win all the time if their only playing for fun. Keep the stakes reasonably low and they'll play every week.

[deacsoft]

There are surely some basic tells you can watch for...

Big hand can sometimes mean:
A) player will shake from adrenaline
B) player will sit back in chair
C) player will look away form the table (unintrested in the action)

Another very basic tell that is common in beginners is when other players are ready to act before the action is to them. Such as:
A) will have chips ready to bet/call/raise before it is their turn
B) will have cards ready for folding before the action get there
C) will glance at their chips right after looking at their hole cards, indicating their intentions to play thier hand

(These are all useful when dealing with multi-way pot and implied odds situations.)

Stick to the basic tells and pay close attention to their play style of play (as the others have suggested).

[Ghazban]

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C) will glance at their chips right after looking at their hole cards, indicating their intentions to play thier hand

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This one is GREAT. I see a lot of people that are otherwise very hard to read in the casinos all the time that do this tell EVERY SINGLE TIME they are going to bet a hand.

[deacsoft]

I used to do it myself until a friend, who is a poker player and fellow 2+2er, pointed it out to me long ago.