The Tell Overture

If you can figure out when your opponent is bluffing, you're far more likely to succeed at a poker table. But we never imagined there are so many ways to do it.

One man is making a living by telling about "tells." He has at least 16 videos, along with books about things to spot that could tip off a player's hand. For instance: if a player waits for you to act, it usually "will indicate nervousness and hence weak hands."

Maybe so - but here's our question about this. Do videos revealing potential tells actually make some players more likely to include those "tells" as part of their bluffing strategy? The game becomes more than simply a reaction to your cards - it becomes how well you sell that reaction.

Perhaps this is why some professional actors like Don Cheadle have done well in tournaments. They know all about "Hollywooding", as it's called in poker. Some of us call it an acting job. And it's been used to fool people for a long time:

David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. - I Samuel 21:12-13

This occurred before David became the Bible's "King David." He was on the run from the then-ruling King Saul (verse 10), who wanted him dead (chapter 19). David apparently was concerned about King Achish as well, so he did some "Hollywooding" to avoid staying long.  Some might call this kind of acting a form of lying....

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. - Deuteronomy 5:20

....But consider what happened to David. God didn't punish him for what he did. In fact, he gained a total following of about 400 men (I Samuel 22:2) - although we'd note they weren't necessarily the cream of the crop, described as "in debt or discontented".

So we're led to think a little "acting while you're acting," if you know what we mean, is OK. But we'd add this....

Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. - Philippians 4:5 (KJV)

There can be such a thing as "ham acting" - going so far overboard that you're not simply telling, you're screaming.

So what do you think? Are tells that common at the poker table? Have some people "shown a tell" to throw you off the track? And what's the top thing you examine, in considering an opponent's hand?