How do you reduce the shaking tells?

[varoadstter]

I have this tell, too. I have been playing live for about a year and a half. It has cost me some action. Unfortunately, I am jittery by nature so when I do get the shakes people can see it from the far end of the table.

What has "worked" for me is to make sure my hands are in contact with the table as much as possible. I don't shake if I'm steadying myself on the rail or the felt. I have to remember to do that on every hand, though. I'm sure someone observant can still pretty much see it.

Good luck.

[BoogerFace]

Keep you hands in your lap.

[jojobinks]

i got over it and you can too! here's how!

keep playing. after awhile, flopping quads feels like taking out the trash. then you'll make all the money. on the other hand, you lose a bit of the thrill, but at least you lost that there tell...

[Yarney]

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Any tips on how not to shake?

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I reccomend less meth-amphetamines.

-Yarney

[CrazyN8]

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It's just experience.

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yep, over time you won't be like that. It probably took me a year to get over being nervous in the casinos. I still get a little nervous when I sit down but I get over it pretty quick.

For me, it's experience. I just think, "Is this the hand I get sucked-out on?" I also think, "I haven't won anything yet, so let's be sure to break someone on this." I also look at my peripheral field of vision while staring ahead, and focusing on the side action (no pun intended) takes my mind off of flopping quads or the boat. It happened to me the first few times, too, but after a week of bad beats, etc. and playing tens of thousands of hands, you don't think, "Holy God! I just flopped QUADS!" You just think, "FINALLY caught a good hand." Much less enthusiasm. You think about what you'll do with the chips, your position when you win, etc. Something to distract you from the eagerness.

[Zetack]

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I was playing and I must hve been shaking when I turned a boat, because the person next to me NOT EVEN IN THE HAND mentioned it mid hand. (Still got every chip I could though) But shaking when I have a good hand is obviously a hinderence. Any tips on how not to shake?

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Two joints and a 'lude.

You might not play well as well at that point, but you won't be shaking...

--Zetack

Seconded. I had this too, and I found the best way to keep an even keel at the table is to play a lot of hands, so your mind recognizes that it's just another hand (one where you happen to be way ahead, of course, but still). Granted, that's not much help to you now, but over time it'll even out.

If you have some spare time, and don't do this already, try playing some online poker, if even for play money -- you see a lot of hands fast, and you can get your celebration done where no one can see or hear you.

Interesting stuff...

Now, let's say that you've got the shaking under control, but you suffer from that incredibly increased pulse when you have a monster.

I was playing in a small home tourney last night. I was dealt wired aces and my pulse just spiked unexpectedly. It never really happened to be before. I flipped the collars of my shirt up to cover any vein action in the neck. I may have been over exagerating, but it was intense blood flow.

Any advice for this, or does the existing advice apply here as well?

do you play with the same people all the time? once i get to know someone's playing style i normally lose this tell. i think about how to make the most money against this person, rather than "oh boy i flopped a monster, im going to win!" its easy to win with a monster, but with a cool head, you can maximize your earnings if you know the other players' tendencies.

the other night in my home game i was getting terrible cards all night, then i won 2 big hands in a row and felt like i had just done 10 lines of coke, i was so excited. i just got up and stretched, talked about how happy i was to finally get a coupld of playable hands and then nobody even cared anymore. i won about 3 more big pots before the night was over (within an hour or so of this).

like everyone has already said, this tell will get better over time. i used to telegraph pocket aces preflop before the action even got to me, my tells were so bad, but now i can flop a set and slowplay it with the best of em, unless theres like crazy action. then i get a little excited lol.

but yeah, play a lot of hands and practice controlling yourself a little more mentally and this tell will fade if not completely disappear.

also, i think playing online will make this tell worse, especially if your home game doesn't meet very often. im a college student and this summer i played live about 4 times and online the rest of the time. When i came back i was just so excited to be playing that i would constantly get nervous and shaky with even my mediocre hands.

as for the pulse, deep breaths and concentration are the best way to attempt to lower it yourself. i would also recommend sitting out a few hands to get a drink or use the bathroom to calm yourself down if you feel your pulse getting out of control.

Anyway good luck, home games are fun. If I were you I'd worry about having fun first, then making money. When I win a big pot, I'm usually just exhilarated that I won, not happy to win the money. My main reward is knowing that I just kicked someone's ass, and when outplaying someone rather than winning money is my motivation, it greatly reduces my tells.

Steve