Poker is a game of misdirection and learning to recognize your opponents’ tells is essential to success. Josh Waitzkin believes that by studying their behavior and then making wise decisions based on this information can lead to huge wins in poker.

One of the most reliable tells is taking a quick glance at your opponent’s chips; this often indicates they hold strong cards.

1. Eye contact

Good poker players possess the ability to interpret unknowingly given clues from opponents through “tells”. They spend considerable time analyzing these tells in order to gain an edge against their rivals.

Tells are easily detectable to the naked eye, like trembling hands or covering their mouth. Others require keener observation for detection; it’s important to remember that pinpointing tells is not an exact science and even top players may occasionally give off false clues.

The key to effective poker playing lies in looking out for clusters of tells. For example, if someone blinks frequently and quickly looks over their cards before betting, that may indicate they hold an effective hand. On the other hand, if they appear nervous or cover their mouth when making decisions they could be trying to bluff. Keep an eye out for verbal cues such as broken, high pitched or forced speech patterns as these may also be telling signs.

2. Body language

Poker players use body language to convey information, including their strength of hand. When bluffing, players stack their chips menacingly; when value betting they carelessly toss them in. Some players try to hide their tells by creating a consistent routine at the table – including how they sit, check cards, stack and push forward cards as well as where they look after each action; other attempt to confuse observers by acting inconsistently.

Physical tells like trembling hands can be effective indicators, but they must be used alongside baseline behavior and other tells to properly gauge hand strength. For instance, swallowing hard may indicate nerves or weakness rather than hand strength. Online betting patterns provide another reliable indicator of hand strength. By correctly interpreting faked tells and correctly interpreting them when they arise you could save yourself both time and money by preventing hero calls when weak hands arise.

3. Body posture

Gather as much information on your opponent’s body posture during a hand, the better. While observing their eyes or hand gestures may provide some useful hints as to their strategy in playing out particular hands, understanding more of how their bodies move can offer insight into what might be their playstyle in any particular hand.

Be on the lookout for any signs that indicate they may be anxious about or nervous about the outcome of their hand; such as sitting up straight or leaning forward; their shoulders pulled back with tension in them; or having their feet planted and knees flexed, as these may indicate their hand is weak.

As the hand progresses, it is key to attempt to put your opponent within a range instead of guessing at what their hand might be. This can be accomplished through watching their betting patterns, bet sizings, decision making processes and whether there have been any dramatic shifts from their normal playing style. Also important is keeping an eye out for any significant deviations in behavior from what was expected earlier in the hand.

4. Breathing

At poker, the best players possess an ability to display only subtle tells. These may involve physical actions and verbal communication – some may be universal such as increasing heartbeat rate when holding good cards while others can be specific for each individual player.

As an example, breathing heavily could indicate anxiety over their hand; however, this tell should always be used alongside other baseline information to form an assessment.

Newer players tend to sigh when receiving their hole cards, tut when the flop comes down or raise their eyebrows theatrically when responding to bets – all this overacting indicates they’re trying to portray weakness when actually they have an excellent hand! Furthermore, their actions might also be designed to misdirect you by acting weak and hoping you call their bets instead.