P
ph_il
...
Silver Level
Just wondering, for those that play live tournaments, what are you looking for when it comes to tells?
Sometimes, they're pretty obvious. For example, I might know what the player behind me is going to do preflop based on what he is doing with his cards.
-he might be holding them, ready to muck when it gets to him.
-he might put a chip on his card and then pick up just enough to call when it gets to him.
-he counts out a raise prematurely before it gets to him.
Are these tells or just good observations? What about the other players? I try to watch and observe them and their actions but sometimes I feel it's information overload. Is it necessary to try and memorize everyone's body language when they play? I feel i have trouble reading body language at times. Are betting patterns what I should be paying more attention to than physical tells, especially in small buy-in tournaments?
For example, someone who bets out 1/3rd size pots on draws, valuable bets for 1/4th pot size with strong hands or nuts, and over bets pot on straight bluffs.
Im a lot better at memorizing these in players, but how reliable is it?
Sometimes, they're pretty obvious. For example, I might know what the player behind me is going to do preflop based on what he is doing with his cards.
-he might be holding them, ready to muck when it gets to him.
-he might put a chip on his card and then pick up just enough to call when it gets to him.
-he counts out a raise prematurely before it gets to him.
Are these tells or just good observations? What about the other players? I try to watch and observe them and their actions but sometimes I feel it's information overload. Is it necessary to try and memorize everyone's body language when they play? I feel i have trouble reading body language at times. Are betting patterns what I should be paying more attention to than physical tells, especially in small buy-in tournaments?
For example, someone who bets out 1/3rd size pots on draws, valuable bets for 1/4th pot size with strong hands or nuts, and over bets pot on straight bluffs.
Im a lot better at memorizing these in players, but how reliable is it?