One of the key skills most good poker players have is the ability to read their opponents at the table. That is why you hear so much about “poker tells.” 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.
Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Good Hand!"
Acting Uninterested in a Hand While Still in ItThis is usually a sign of a strong hand. The player is pretending that he’s not excited about his cards – but he is.
Shaking Hands During a hand, if you notice a player’s hands are shaking as she places her bet, she probably has gotten a really, really good hand. Perhaps the nuts.
Rapid BreathingSome players can control the shakes, but it's harder to control the automatic heart-racing that comes when you see pocket aces or hit the flop really hard. If you can see a player's chest visibly rising and falling, they have an excellent hand
Sighing and ShruggingIf a player makes a show of sighing or shrugging, and says things like “Oh, I guess I’ll call,” or even “Why am I calling?” he probably is overacting and is trying to hide a big hand.
Glancing at Chips After Looking at Hole CardsWhen a player looks down and sees strong hole or pocket cards, she may glance over at her chips to see just how much she can bet.
Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Weak Hand!"
Staring Down Other PlayersIf an opponent is staring you down, he’s trying to represent strength. Usually though, he has a weak hand – he might have something, but it’s something that can be beaten or drawn out on.
Holding BreathOften, inexperienced players will hold their breath if they are bluffing.
Poker Tells that Say "I Have a Drawing Hand."
Checking Hole Cards After a FlopIf the flop shows the possibility of giving someone a flush or straight draw, watch for people re-checking their hole cards. They’re checking to see if they have a piece of it – whether that black Ace was a spade or a club. The player doesn’t have the flush or straight at that point, because if they did, they wouldn’t have to check, but she is seeing if she has a draw to it.
Taking a Long Time Before Calling a BetIf a player looks into the pot and seems to be doing some calculating in his head, he probably is. He’s most likely figuring out the pot odds to see if it’s worth it to try and catch the cards he needs to complete his drawing hand. A final note: more experienced players may give off false tells, so the first thing to read about other players is if they’re novices or pros.
Winning Hands
When playing poker, sometimes the most frustrating part of the game is figuring out which hand outranks another at the poker table. Poker.com has placed the ranking of poker hands in a easy to read layout that is suitable for printing so that you are never wondering who is the winner of any poker hand at the table. We have included an illustrated example of each hand. The list is in order from strongest to weakest.
Five card sequence from 10 to the Ace in the same suit (10,J,Q,K,A).
Any five card sequence in the same suit. (eg. 8,9,10,J,Q and A, 2,3,4,5 of same suit). All the cards are of the same suit, and all are consecutive. Ranking between straights is determined by the value of the high end of the straight.
Three of a kind combined with a pair (eg. A,A,A,5,5). Ties on a full house are broken by the three of a kind, as you cannot have two equal sets of three of a kind in any single deck.
Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence. Don't be tricked into thinking that all five cards are the same color. The high card determines the winner if two or more people have a flush.
Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit. A straight cannot wrap, meaning it is not a straight if you have a Queen, King, Ace, Two, Three. The higher straight wins if two or more people have a straight. In case of straights that tie, the pot is split.
Three cards of the same value. The highest set of three cards wins.
Two seperate pairs (eg. 4,4,Q,Q). As usual the pair with the higher value is used to determine the winner of a tie.
One pair of two equal value cards constitutes a pair.
If no one has any of the above winning hands, the tie is determined by the highest value card in the hand. If the highest cards are a tie then the tie is broken by the second highest card. Suits are not used to break ties.
