Learn Texas Holdem

Question:HELLO! I HAVE BEEN PERUSING MANY WEBSITES DEALING WITH "TEXAS HOLD'EM" POKER, BUT HAVE FOUND YOURS TO BE THE "TOP DOG." ALTHOUGH I HAVE FOUND THIS TO BE TRUE, I HAVE YET TO FIND MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT TELLS THAT OCCUR BEFORE THE FIRST THREE COMMUNITY CARDS HAVE BEEN DEALT. I HAVE READ THAT THE TIME SPENT PEEKING AT POCKET CARDS CAN BE A TELL, HOWEVER I HAVE HEARD BOTH WAYS; THAT IS, PEEKING FOR A LONGER THAN NORMAL TIME MOST LIKELY SIGNIFIES POOR CARDS TRYING TO ACT STRONG, AND THAT IT IS A SUBCONCIOUS REACTION TO VALUABLE CARDS. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY GIVE ME ON PRE-FLOP AND/OR ANY POKER TELLS. I THANK THEE AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! SINCERELY,

RICHARD O'DELL GARRIS III

P.S. I WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE IF IF YOU COULD POSSIBLY SEND YOUR REPLY TO MY EMAIL ADDRESS AS WELL AS POSTING IT ON YOUR SPECTACULAR WEBSITE IF IT IS NOT TOO MUCH OF AN INCONVENIENCE. CHEERIO.

Answer: I'm not a big believer in tells; atleast not what most people consider tells. For example, the movie Rounders shows him eating his oreos in a certain way and that gave away his hand. That's not going to happen. If poker tells were such a big part of the game then you would see more pros use them. That just isn't the case though, even the best players make horrible reads that cost them. It isn't easy to read another person's hand and the idea that it is so obvious it is showing physcially doesn't make sense to me. Let's take something as common as nervousness.

If someone went all-in against you in a no limit tourney and you read that they were nervous does that mean they have a poor hand? It could be the opposite. They could have the nuts and be shaking because of that. Instead of tells, I would try to pay attention to their betting habits in other hands. See how they handle different situations and then you can deduce whether or not they have what you think they have and if it worth you getting involved. I think the biggest tell in poker is when you have watched how someone has played all day and they make a move that is contrary to that style.