Poker Hands

Reading poker hands does not mean reading someone’s fortune or horoscope. It simply means you analyze and study your opponents move on the table. It’s a very important aspect to understand your opponent’s poker strategy and making sure that your opponent has not recognized it. 

A “tell” is any physical reaction, kind of behavior, or habit that gives (or tells) the other players information about your hand. If you learn the most common tells, you can not only watch your own behavior to make sure your body language isn’t telling all your secrets, but also watch for the habits and tics in the poker players you’re at the table with. If you can accurately read your opponent’s tells, you’ll make the right decisions against them more often and win more money.

Everyone has their own unique tics and tells, and it’s great to watch individuals and pick up on their unique tells. Luckily, there are also a few involuntary and common tells that you can watch for even the first time you sit down with someone. As a general rule, remember that when a player acts strong, he’s probably weak, and when a player acts weak, he's probably got a really strong hand.

Some of the reactions are, when there’s a strong poker hand:

· Acting Uninterested in a Hand While Still in It

· Shaking Hands

· Rapid Breathing

· Sighing and Shrugging

· Glancing at Chips After Looking at Hole Cards

Some of the reactions are, when there’s a weak hand:

· Checking Hole Cards After a Flop

· Taking a Long Time Before Calling a Bet

A final note: more experienced players may give off false tells about their poker hands, so the first thing to read about other players is if they’re novices or pros.