POCKET ACES

Poker’s Other Language: Beyond Sunglasses

Originally produced in the 1980s, the first really great book to open the door to the application of body language to poker was Mike Caro’s Book of Tells, also known as Body Language of Poker, later to be produced in video format. Caro didn’t invent the topic, for sure, but his research and application of the theory of body language to poker broke new ground, and both the book and the video remain staples in most libraries.

Caro’s study was accompanied by posed photos that illustrated some of the better-known aspects of body language, the ones that immediately signaled something other than true intent. I found the book immensely useful just after reading it, recalling something about players looking away quickly. In a hold’em game after the flop, a man quickly examined his chips then looked away, blatantly, mind you, as if searching for a speck of dust in the casino air. I had a pair of nines, which were not helped by the flop, and recalling that I read about this very reaction, I guessed the player had a very good hand and was trying to be as nonchalant as possible about it. As play progressed with three active players, I watched intently, hoping to see the hands. True to the tell, this fellow was holding a pair of queens, neatly visited by a queen on the flop.

Today, just about every poker player alive knows that tell, and they seem to know many of the other tells, particularly the ones players think they can disguise by wearing sunglasses. These individuals are correct to a certain extent but solid, seasoned players don’t need sunglasses because they’ve mastered the art of disguise. In fact, I believe, if you watch these fellows long enough, you’ll see they use their eyes to lead others into believing something totally different from what they are contemplating. Other pros who wear glasses usually do so just for the intimidating effect.

Since Caro’s book appeared and poker became an acceptable form of competition, more and more players began to use their skills at reading body language to help them earn extra pots and to save money on marginal or good hands that their eyes indicated were not strong enough. You see this in many of the tournament games on television, where a player holding a very playable hand hems and haws and thinks and maybe even talks about what he has to do before tossing his hand in the muck. Many times the player (read: Daniel Negreanu) actually tells the viewer what his opponent could be holding. This player and others like him do not have ESP. Usually they’ve caught an obvious tell.

Here’s the lowdown on poker tells. Players telegraph things all the time. Some do it unconsciously while others do it on purpose. The former usually end up on the losing end of big pots; the latter become known for their super skills. Most tells are not obvious. To learn how to see them you need to study people the way you study math or starting hands or grammar. While mastering this skill won’t make you an instant winner, it will save you from your own destruction while helping you destroy others.

Next time: The latest in poker tells.