6 Ways To Spot A Bluff At A Home Poker Game
In your home poker game you won’t likely be playing against a lot of really good poker players. You may be playing against some bad players, average players, one or two good players, and a lot of people who think that they are really good. Learn to identify the tells of the people who think they are good, and act like they are good, but give away their hands with obvious signs, and you will take a lot of their chips.
Here are some common tells that you’ll see people at your home game that let you know they are bluffing
1) Slamming Chips Into the pot – Occasionally you will see a person make a bet with much more force than is required. They will slam the chips into the pot, generally following the slam with a stare down at the person who needs to make the call. Pushing chips in forcefully is a sign of weakness, not one of strength. Players with strong hands don’t want to do anything to intimidate other players. They want calls. It is players with weak hands that will attempt to act strong and try to intimidate you into folding
2) Acting immediately at their turn – Rarely when a person has a strong hand do they make a bet immediately when it is their turn. They take the time to study the board, or evaluate what the player did in front of them. If a player has a strong hand, he will take some time to try to judge your hand strength, in order to decide how much money he can milk from you. Players with weak hands don’t care how strong you are. They know the only way they can win the pot is to push you off of it, so are more likely to have made up their mind to bluff as soon as it gets to them. If you ever see someone bet immediately when it is their turn, you should think Bluff.
3) The Stare down – Staring at a player after you put chips in the pot is a way to act strong. It is saying to the other player, “I have a good hand, I’m not intimidated by you” It is equivalent to getting up in some-one’s face, and trying to make them blink first. Does a player with a strong hand want to intimidate you into folding? If you see a person who is clearly acting, and is acting strong, it is a sign of weakness.
4) A Large Over bet At The River – As soon as the river card is dealt, there are no more cards to come. All of the drawing hands have either gotten their or not. Thus players with strong hands have no need to bet big in order to try and push out the drawing hands. They want to bet the maximum amount that they can and still get paid off. They know if they make a large over bet at the river, 1.5 times the pot or larger, people will think twice about calling. Players who want to get paid off will generally bet less than the size of the pot. They will bet 1/3 or 1/2 the pot. It is the players who want to push you out who will bet big.
5) Sitting upright, leaning into the table – Look at your opponents posture. Is he leaning back, relaxed? Or is he sitting up, leaning forward in a strong, aggressive posture? Players with strong hands will tend to relax. They are in control of the hand and aren’t anxious at the next card to come. They don’t want to look forceful and be intimidating. It is players with weak hands that will be sitting forward in order to see the next card when it is dealt. If you see a person adopting an aggressive posture, you should think they are weaker than they appear.
6) Sloppy Chip Stacking – How a player stacks his chips can help you judge how he will play. If he stacks his chips in neat rows, he is more likely a conservative player. He wants to be able to quickly see how many chips he has and change his course accordingly. He is more likely to think through his actions and be more deliberate. A player with sloppy chip stacks are more aggressive. They are more likely to throw the disorganized piles into the pot in order to win even more. When you see a mix of the two, nice organized piles with sloppy chips on top or in front, that means the player is currently winning. The organized piles are the initial buy in. The sloppy chips on top are the profit. A person is much more likely to play loose with the profit, the “houses money.” When he looses the sloppy stack, expect to see him sit back and wait for a solid hand to play.
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