Tell if Someone Is Lying in Poker

Bluffing is an important part of any poker game, and if you want to win you need to be able to spot a bluff fast. All poker players are different, so no two players will have exactly the same set of tells. However, certain patterns of movement or behavior at the table can help you spot a likely bluff. Looking for subconscious movements such as shaking hands can help you tell when a player is too nervous to bluff, while behaviors such as aggressive betting or intimidation may let you know a bluffing opponent is trying to scare you into folding.

Steps

Reading Body Language

1. Don't look at their eyes. The common advice is to look someone in the eye to see if they are lying. This is not a tested strategy, however. Skilled players have no problems looking someone in the eye while bluffing.
   • A new or unskilled player might glance away or dilate their pupils some when bluffing, but these are often stress responses. When a player learns to control the stress that comes with bluffing, these signals become easy to control.
2. Look for intimidation. When a player is trying to bluff you, their natural instinct is to try to look intimidating to encourage you to fold your hand away. Intimidation tactics may include slamming down chips, talking loud, and staring you down.
   • Staring at you directly in the eyes is often an indicator of a bluff. While there are a number of reasons another play may look you directly in the eyes, someone holding eye contact is often trying to keep focus on them and intimidate you.
3. Watch their shoulders. Stress causes our shoulders to tense up. If you are observant, you may be able to see some of your opponents slightly crunch their shoulders upward and inward. If you see this, it usually means your opponent is scared or has a weak hand.
   • One the other hand, when your opponent drops their shoulders, it usually means they missed their hand. An opponent in this situation will likely not bluff and is no longer a threat to you during that hand.
4. Observe their breathing. When an opponent starts breathing heavily in a deep up and down motion, that is a good sign that something is deeply stressing them out. If your opponent has just made a huge bet and their breathing becomes deeper, chances are they are bluffing.
   • Hyperventilation may also indicate a stressful situation. Shallow breaths and frequent inhalation may indicate that your opponent does not know what to do next or is nervous during a hand.

Looking for Indicators at the Table

1. Take note of their betting patterns. One of the biggest indicators your opponent is bluffing is how your opponent bets. An opponent who normally raises pre-flop to five multiples of the blinds suddenly and makes it 2x the blind instead. This is a major tell that they want you to call. If they make it 10x the blind, they wants you to fold.
   • Take note of how aggressive your opponent bets when they have a good hand. If they are generally a more aggressive better overall, there’s a chance that they will try to intimidate you out of your hand with strong betting patterns.
2. Monitor their speaking patterns. When a quiet person at the game suddenly starts talking, it's time to pay attention. Introverted people often talk less because social interaction may stress them out. This means that if a quiet opponent is talking, they are likely relaxed.
   • A relaxed opponent is likely not bluffing and may even have a strong hand.
   • On the other hand, if a more social player suddenly gets quiet, they may be devoting most of their attention to their hand. Chances are that they have something good and need to think about how to play it.
3. Shaking hands. This is a tell for a player holding a major hand. Often, players nervous enough to shake know that they are not in any condition to bluff. It would be too noticeable. Instead, this tell typically indicates newer players who have trouble holding in their emotions. Expect aces, sets, or other huge hands when someone bets with shaking hands.
   • When you see shaking stop, that is a potential tell that your opponent is bluffing. This may be seen right after your opponent bets against you. Look for any signs that they are trying to control themselves.
   • For people who shake or bob their legs unconsciously, a bluff may cause them to stop their movement in an attempt to control themselves and make it appear as though they have no tells.

Recognizing When Someone Has A Good Hand

1. Look for a passive player. When someone has a good hand, they tend to try to look as calm and passive as possible. This may come naturally due to lack of stress to bluff, or a player may try to put on a show to demonstrate their feigned lack of interest in their hand.
   • Some intentionally passive gestures may include big sighs, slumping in their chairs, saying things like "I guess I'll bet." or shaking their head.
   • Often, if a player is making a point to show lack of interest in their hand, it is because they have something they want you to be into.
2. See if they are reluctant to bet. A player who bets conservatively or seems unhappy to have to bet is likely holding a strong hand. In order to make their hand seem weaker, they will try to seem unsure about whether they should bet.
   • This is a particularly good tell for someone who is generally an aggressive better. A sudden change to a more reserved betting pattern likely indicates a strong hand.
3. Look around their eyes. While stress indicators in the eyes are easy for an experienced player to control, smiling from the eyes often is not. An experienced player knows better than to smile when they get a good hand, but their eyes will often narrow somewhat. The best indicator of this is seeing crows feet suddenly appear around their eyes.
   • Even if your opponent has their eyes covered, watch how the skin folds in the area around their eyes. The sudden emergence of fine lines may indicate that they are sincerely excited for their hand.

Tips

• Bluffing in online poker is much more difficult to detect because you cannot watch your opponent’s physical tells. Instead, pay careful attention to their betting patterns and any chats they may initiate.
• Be conscious of these common tells yourself and try to avoid them when you are bluffing in a poker game.

Warnings

• There is no definitive, scientific method to prove that a person is bluffing. These tell may help indicate a bluff, but they do not guarantee an opponent’s hand.

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• Bluff in Poker
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• Become a Good Poker Player
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Source and Citations

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