BETTING TELLS
Bets are one of the most important ways in which you can read people. Many people have consistent betting patterns that they use for certain hands in various hand ranges. Only the very best players can bet with the most consistency or the most inconsistency! How they play out their hand is a very important way in which players can try to determine what hands their opponents are holding.
Instant Check
Mike Caro states that “if a player looks and then checks instantly, it’s unlikely that he improved his hand”. If you have hit a hand, you will take some time (even if it’s only a millisecond) to determine whether you want to check or bet. If you haven’t hit, it will be an instant check, otherwise you would take to time to determine how much you wanted to bet (bluffing purposes).
Weak Betting
Weak is strong! When a player places a soft bet, it can usually mean that they have a strong hand and is merely pot building. Only the very best players can place a weak bet in one street and play strong on later streets, in a pre-meditated bluff.
Insta Betting
If there is a very fast bet (especially on the turn, or river) it usually means that a player is value betting. He’s got a made hand and wants you to call by betting too fast. They are fairly confident in their hand and haven’t taken the time to think about doing anything else but betting.
Strong Betting
Use your intuition in this situation. It’s quite obvious that the player probably has a pretty good hand. But trust your instincts; if something doesn’t feel right from the get go, they are probably trying to bluff you out. If a player stares you down, or talks loudly, or shoves the chips in, they are probably trying to bully you out of the pot.
A player with a truly strong hand would not feel the need to exert their dominance and look threatening.
Instant Check
Mike Caro states that “if a player looks and then checks instantly, it’s unlikely that he improved his hand”. If you have hit a hand, you will take some time (even if it’s only a millisecond) to determine whether you want to check or bet. If you haven’t hit, it will be an instant check, otherwise you would take to time to determine how much you wanted to bet (bluffing purposes).
Weak Betting
Weak is strong! When a player places a soft bet, it can usually mean that they have a strong hand and is merely pot building. Only the very best players can place a weak bet in one street and play strong on later streets, in a pre-meditated bluff.
Insta Betting
If there is a very fast bet (especially on the turn, or river) it usually means that a player is value betting. He’s got a made hand and wants you to call by betting too fast. They are fairly confident in their hand and haven’t taken the time to think about doing anything else but betting.
Strong Betting
Use your intuition in this situation. It’s quite obvious that the player probably has a pretty good hand. But trust your instincts; if something doesn’t feel right from the get go, they are probably trying to bluff you out. If a player stares you down, or talks loudly, or shoves the chips in, they are probably trying to bully you out of the pot.
A player with a truly strong hand would not feel the need to exert their dominance and look threatening.
