Live Play, Massive Tip

[jsawe]

Few comments on live play.

Caro's book is excellent as far as it goes. However, since so many player's have read the book, some Pro's are using false tells - that is purposely using one of Caro's tells to fool other players.

Joe Navarro's books are excellent information on some body movements that are generally more reliable than some of the one's Caro mentions and should be read by all live game player's.

Neural linguistic profiling (NLP)- if you can see the players eyes is another good way to pick off bluffs. Mastering NLP takes study of the technique and the subject, but is based on involuntary eye movements.

Another highly useful technique, if mastered, is deceptive statement analysis. A number of Pro's try to employ this on a regular basis. Simply by trying to guess a person's hand you may evoke a revealing reaction.
A classic example of this technique in real life would be if you asked your partner, "Have you ever cheated on me?" The normal reaction would be "No," or "No. Why would you ask such a thing." Someone trying to be deceptive is much more likely to leave out the NO, answer with a question or and evasive answer. Note: this theory is based on the premise that most people prefer not to lie and that they are unaware of the appropriate response a truthful person might make.

Knowing these and other similar techniques allows you to counter by playing into them and giving the signals you want to in the given situation. however, not fylly mastering and understand these techniques can also be disastrous.

[UIIIU]

Originally Posted by kardmania

Initial observation on a player.

Player shoves all in. His hand visibly shaking.

Is he strong or weak?

well all its a sign of is release of tension doesnt really mean strong or weak unless you have previous info on a person to prove it one way or another

[jsawe]

I said typically - the motion always means something and you are quite correct you need to know the player to increase the margin of accuracy in your assessment. Just like you if you are in a home came and a friends wraps his ankles around the foot of a chair. Does this always mean he/she is bluffing. No. It has to be put in context. But there are strong indicators and the shaking hand is one of them. Watch the Poker Tube videos of the WSOP Main Event - there a two clear examples and several where experienced players give off this tell. Their motions are much more subtle than what Kard is referring to but it is there.

Similarly, a highly aggressive toss of chips is often (not always) indicative of a bluff - again this must be measured against the way the player normally puts chips into play.