WHY do players wait until their turn to look at their cards?

Just seems one would have more time to decide strategy if you looked immediately. Also, everyone would not be looking at you when you turned your cards up> just wondering??

So that you can watch the other players and possibly pick-up tells based on their reactions/actions. It gives you an opportunity to be aware of the action on the table before you, rather than tuning out while you're looking at your cards as well. In poker, information is key, so any little bit you can obtain, even before looking at your cards is essential.

Not really sure but I think it as to do with the "tells" the less you show of you the better I guess

juiceeQ said:

So that you can watch the other players and possibly pick-up tells based on their reactions/actions. It gives you an opportunity to be aware of the action on the table before you, rather than tuning out while you're looking at your cards as well. In poker, information is key, so any little bit you can obtain, even before looking at your cards is essential.

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^^^ This

You're cards aren't going anywhere. But those tells are if you're looking at your cards whilst they're giving them out.

Don't look at the flop either. Those cards aren't going anywhere either. But the tells you get as they look at the flop are invaluable.

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Great advice, especially live it doesn't matter so much what your 2 cards are if you can put your opponents on cards by watching them.

I only look at my cards when its my turn to act. I also only look at them once

JusSumguy said:

^^^ This

You're cards aren't going anywhere. But those tells are if you're looking at your cards whilst they're giving them out.

Don't look at the flop either. Those cards aren't going anywhere either. But the tells you get as they look at the flop are invaluable.

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I really like that thought about the flop , never purposely thought about it that way , thanks.

Yeah 1st time playing live I see AA and guess what I am shaking like a crapping dog! Lucky I was in a room with mostly bad players and I soon learned to control that, I have a disability that means its a bit of a different situation for me because I am quite stooped over and cant turn my head much one way so do not pick up some visual tells.

I have read though that if somebody checks their hand a lot then they have a good hand or have hit the board big, not sure how true that is but I know I have found myself doing the same thing lol.

Actually I have found the opposite to be true. If someone looks away quickly from the flop, they have a huge hand.

You have to remember every player is different... One tell I like is when the opponent tightens up their lips... This is a tell that they are bluffing!

But remember good poker players may put on tells and that's what I like doing! every so often.

JusSumguy said:

^^^ This

You're cards aren't going anywhere. But those tells are if you're looking at your cards whilst they're giving them out.

Don't look at the flop either. Those cards aren't going anywhere either. But the tells you get as they look at the flop are invaluable.

-

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I have never thought to do that, but that seems like really good advice. I feel like you could get more tells while players look at the flop than any other time, because they don't feel like anyone is watching them.

Agree with the above - I don't look at my cards until it's my action. I already know with what ranges I act upon in my position, so it doesn't take much time to make that initial pre-flop play after looking at the cards. I never took it further and purposely ignored the flop in favor of watching other players though - will have to add that to my bag of tricks.

I take it that when you're watching other players during the dealing of the flop you'll also notice if another player is doing the same - and mentally mark them as experienced and observant.

juiceeQ said:

So that you can watch the other players and possibly pick-up tells based on their reactions/actions. It gives you an opportunity to be aware of the action on the table before you, rather than tuning out while you're looking at your cards as well. In poker, information is key, so any little bit you can obtain, even before looking at your cards is essential.

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Agree +1

I thought everyone knew this? Poker 101 in every book I have read?

i look right away, if i wait till my turn i feel everyone is looking at me, and when i get good hands i put my chips in too fast. and i like to think about what im gonna do.

dead homie said:

i look right away, if i wait till my turn i feel everyone is looking at me, and when i get good hands i put my chips in too fast. and i like to think about what im gonna do.

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while you are looking at your cards right away, we are looking at you and using that time to pay attention to your reaction.

When playing live my cards are the last thing I consider.
I have won many pots, purely making the decision on player reactions to their hands and the way they bet.

If im in late position I will watch the action, make decisions on how to play the hand, should I raise? can I steal? is that guy betting from strength? Ill decide what I will do before it gets to me, then I will look at my cards.

If my hand content justifies my game plan then I will follow through, if not I muck or adjust the game plan.
Usually the content of my hand has very little to do with my pre-flop decisions.

Unless Im playing omaha, then I look as soon as I get them and try to figure out what the hell I can make from this junk.

When you look at your cards early you give away information.
Instead Spend the time paying attention to the other players.

Do what makes you comfortable. If it's looking early, then look early. As far as giving tells,I don't see how that's a factor. If the looking early gives tells, you will give tells when you look late, what's the difference.

There is some merit to waiting and watching the other players, but I like to look right away. It takes almost no time and I can still watch the other players as they look. What this does do is makes it so I can act very fast. Over the course of a day it might mean I get to play a couple more hands. I wish players in general would act faster because the more hands per hour the better!

The reason you want to look at your cards when its your turn so you don't act out of turn as well as figuring out what your opponents have with just peer body language if you pick up tells it gives you an advantage at the poker table

It's pretty much been said above - the theory is if you look at your cards immediately then it'll take your attention away from the other players and prejudice your thinking about the hand.

For example if you look at your cards immediately and see 74o chances are you'll think "garbage, I'm not playing this hand" and stop paying attention to the rest of the table - because your brain <i>knows</i> you're taking no further part in the hand.

If you don't look at your hand straight away though, and instead focus on the other players at the table as <i>they're</i> looking at their cards and acting, you might pick up on something useful - you might identify a good spot to squeeze regardless of the cards you're holding, for example.

That said I to tend to agree that there's a downside to waiting too, being that when you wait until it's your turn to act to look at your cards, <b>everybody</b> at the table is watching you. If you're good at concealing information then this isn't a huge issue but if you don't have a great poker face, maybe you might want to consider looking a bit earlier.

Excellent advice regarding the flop being given above BTW - there's really no reason to watch it as it comes out. Watch the other players instead.

This doesn't really matter unless a player waits to look at his cards and gives his hand away with a tell. Timing means nothing, its the tells that one might portray that would matter.

I personally could play blind in a pot for large amount of money and not reveal anything when I looked at my cards.

Don't read into this unless a player at table is making it obvious what they have when they look in more than one example.

i guess in my case it so i dont give any tells away before other get their money in the pot.if i have poket aces i dont want to give a sign i have a monster to someone who may put chips in the pot cause they have no tells in veiw

if you were dealt aces and someone at the table had a read on you that you had a big hand wouldn’t you rather they got the read late after there money was already in the pot? If you look early you might be targeted by veterans as an inexperienced player .These are just a couple examples but there are many more. But doing what is comfortable is good advice. GL.

barfbag said:

Just seems one would have more time to decide strategy if you looked immediately. Also, everyone would not be looking at you when you turned your cards up> just wondering??

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OzExorcist really hits the nail on the head - reread his response.


Also - you should not need more time to decide a preflop strategy - you should know (BEFORE you look) what you want/need to see to get involved with the hand (based on position and reads). That includes it not even mattering what you see - you are coming in for other reasons than your cards. This will also help keep you from impulsive/disastrous/stupid preflop moves.

Reading the board or your hand at holdem is a lot easier than stud games. You can take your time and assess the players before viewing the cards. I look at my cards once and never again until I muck or show. A lot of time gets wasted checking and rechecking a two card holding.