Breathing as "tell"?

I haven't played any live games yet, but over the past few weeks I've noticed a marked change in my breathing when I have a monster hand. Even though I'm only playing online, I've been working on controlling my breathing -- after all, I don't ever want to find myself hyperventilating at a live table.

Anyway, I discovered this today and Tilly seems to have this very problem:

YouTube - Jennifer Tilly Vs Patrick Antonius... Jennifer Tilly = donk

Coincidence, or am I onto something?

The problem I think is that someone with a monster or someone trying to pull off a bluff would be breathing hard. If someone has yet to act and they're breathing hard, I'd say you're probably right, but as in the video, Tilly thought she may have been beat, and was worried. The breathing just means excitement, and that could be because they're worried they're going to get called and lose or it could mean they can't wait for you to call and them to take down the pot.

Well, the fact she has huge chest doesn't help; it makes the breathing more pronounced. But yes, there are physical breathing tells. Being able to use them effectively is also a matter of knowing what they mean which will be based on similar previous circumstances with that same opponent. The same tell doesn't always mean the same thing for different people. But don't believe that they can't be used all, it's a matter of observation.

zachvac said:

The problem I think is that someone with a monster or someone trying to pull off a bluff would be breathing hard.

Click to expand...

I could be wrong here, but from what I've observed (and read), the responses are actually fairly different for the average player.

If someone's trying to pull off a big bluff, they're more likely to hardly be breathing at all. They'll usually be very conscious of everything they're doing, including something as simple as breathing, and they'll overcompensate as a result.

The motivation is the fear that if they give even the smallest sign their opponent will them. Somehow, 'breathing normally' gets put into the "Ohshit it'll make them call" category. A player that's bluffing will rarely be able to engage you in conversation either, based on the same principle: they'll be too scared that something they say will make you call.

If, on the other hand, you can see someone's pulse pounding away in their neck, it's usually a sign of genuine excitement: they usually have a monster hand.

Breathing heavily works along the same lines - the player is usually far too busy trying to control their stupid grin to worry about how they're breathing or their pulse rate.

i've only played a few live games and i'm atrocious! I got dealt KK and nearly came in my pants. Much better for me to stick to the internet where I can leap around to my hearts content without giving anything away

G

"I thought you had poket K's..." Why would you assume someone had pocket K's? I would think she would think/hope for AK or another large hand which she would have dominated. So she just told everyone, "I assume you have me beat - bet into me so I'll fold."

tells

Classic bluff tell is holding your breath, but some people will reverse tell. Adrenaline levels go up and can make you breath heavy or hands shake, etc. That is often true after a hand, so someone might be shaky from last hand, and you read it as current hand. Focus on slower deeper breathing - it can help you calm down. In terms of getting a tell on others, it is very important to observe for a while to see. You may breath heavy when you have good hand, someone else might if they are on a draw, etc.