From the internet to live play -- Giving off tells?

billyjex · #1 06-23-2005, 04:45 PM

Hey guys,

This question might be a little general but as I prepare for the main event I want to get some opinions on giving off tells.

As an internet player my live experience is just about nil. The biggest live tournament I've played in was $50 and it doesn't really matter how I conducted myself while in a hand -- my opponents weren't good enough to notice anything about me anyways.

I guess I'm wondering, especially to you guys who have been playing/played in the WSOP this year and previous years, are there any tells that I should concern myself about? Obviously I will try to sit still and motionless while I play a hand, but I'm wondering if some of those pros can pick up things not even I'm aware of..

James Lang · #2 06-23-2005, 04:53 PM

Have you read Caro's book of poker tells yet? I read that on the way down to the NOLA circuit event, it helped a lot.

smoore · #3 06-23-2005, 04:57 PM

breathing. Keep it the same when you bluff as when you have a monster.

bet actions. It's hard to stop trembling but make sure you're putting the chips in the same way every time.

preflop hole cards. Develop a procedure for how to look at/protect your cards. i.e. I always check them, stare at them for count of three and then put a chip on top of them.

lean angle. pick one and stick with it, I prefer elbows on table, slightly hunched. leaning forward/back is a pretty big way to start to give off tells.

wear a hat. The forehead is the hardest to control facial muscle (also nice and large).

I would go ahead and wear sunglasses. this is a big event and you don't want to give anything away, even at the expense of looking like an online douchebag (don't take offense, I'm an inet dbag too). Take some cards and a trusted poker friend with you to the sunglasses store to check for reflection. If the salespeople give you any crap just tell them how much the buy in is. This should set off commision bells in the person's head and they will probably go out of thier way to give you diffferent lighting and such [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

and for god's sake, go play more $50 tournaments

billyjex · #4 06-23-2005, 05:00 PM

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and for god's sake, go play more $50 tournaments

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yeah, i will be, it's just a pain because the indian casino is 30 minutes away. i need to stop being lazy (it's too easy when I can play 4 tourneys at once at my home!)

thanks for the advice.

RedRum · #5 06-23-2005, 05:09 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
and for god's sake, go play more $50 tournaments

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, i will be, it's just a pain because the indian casino is 30 minutes away. i need to stop being lazy (it's too easy when I can play 4 tourneys at once at my home!)

thanks for the advice.

[/ QUOTE ]

30 minutes away!?! God I wish I was that close, I think it's 4 hours to a cheesy little indian job here, and 8 to biloxi.

/sigh

GL in the Main Event

IHateKeithSmart · #6 06-23-2005, 05:53 PM

Hey billy:

I am the opposite and have more of a B&M -> internet experience. I agree with all of smoore's advice except the sunglasses. If you are not used to wearing shades when playing, don't start now.

But, the real key to not giving off tells is to be consistent. Pay attention especially to how you handle your chips when calling/betting/raising. I would say practice offline if you have to.

Like smoore says, look at your cards the same way every time, and only when the action gets to you.

I never wear hats in real life, but always at the casino.

Good luck!
Jason

smoore · #7 06-23-2005, 06:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I never wear hats in real life, but always at the casino.

[/ QUOTE ]

haha, that's a great distinction.

Why would you recommend against glasses? Do you think he has enough time to mitigate these reasons between now and the ME in his $50 tournaments? I wear eyeglasses so sunglasses are just right out for me unless I got 'scrips... I think I would if I were to play in a big event.

RE chip counts: What happens if you lie? Say I'm facing a big bet from Ivey and push. Avg stack is say $50k and I obviously have less than that. He turns to me and says, "How deep are you?" I look him straight in the eye (from behind my prescription raybans, of course) and reply confidently, "Three hundred twenty five thousand, four hundred."

Do I get penalized in any way?

IHateKeithSmart · #8 06-23-2005, 07:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I never wear hats in real life, but always at the casino.

[/ QUOTE ]

haha, that's a great distinction.

Why would you recommend against glasses? Do you think he has enough time to mitigate these reasons between now and the ME in his $50 tournaments? I wear eyeglasses so sunglasses are just right out for me unless I got 'scrips... I think I would if I were to play in a big event.

[/ QUOTE ]

Heh, whoops, shoulda said 'never wear hats outside of the casino'. WRT the glasses, it will feel unnatural if you haven't done it before. Plus, depending on where you're sitting, it can make the board harder to read. I tried wearing glasses at my first final table but ditched them after about 2 orbits b/c they didn't feel right, YMMV.

But, if you are used to wearing glasses, go for it.

smoore · #9 06-23-2005, 07:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Heh, whoops, shoulda said 'never wear hats outside of the casino'. WRT the glasses, it will feel unnatural if you haven't done it before. Plus, depending on where you're sitting, it can make the board harder to read. I tried wearing glasses at my first final table but ditched them after about 2 orbits b/c they didn't feel right, YMMV.

[/ QUOTE ]

hah, I think you had it right the first time [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

re glasses being uncomfortable: Yeah, I can see that point... I guess just because these things are on my nose all the time sunglasses would just have to be light enough to be able to see through.

locutus2002 · #10 06-23-2005, 05:05 PM

Get sunglasses.

Players will stare you down for minutes on end in a crucial hand. When they're not looking at you they will be salivating over your chips.

As a novice live player I was looking at my cards before it was my turn to act because I wanted to be thinking about my play as the betting goes around the table. Everytime I looked up from my cards I could see 1/4 of the table was staring at me. I stopped looking at my cards in advance when we got short handed. If you plan to do this, make sure that your action is the same for hands you intend to play and hands you intend to fold. In hindsight I think they were just trying to protect their blinds from loose raises (steals). Act in turn: I saw the player to my left move for his chips just before I was going to move for mine.

GL.