The goal of Table Talk is all about fine-tuning your play style in Texas Hold Em’ and developing tools that will allow you to better understand numerical advantage and how to best manipulate your opponent. Poker is not always won with mathematics and fundamentals, it’s a social game with a heavy focus on psychology. There are a handful of simple moves that, when mastered, can make a player substantially more threatening in live table play. A reverse tell or a false tell is a deliberate behavior or actions that feeds other players misinformation. This tactic can force your opponents into making increasingly difficult decisions and even trick them into folding the winning hand or over betting the losing one.
There are common tells that every good poker player looks for. Using tells at the right moment can influence your opponent’s thought process. The reverse tell isn’t foolproof or an exact science. Poker is full of times when players are debating a call or a fold. Sometimes all they need is a reason to do so. For a reverse tell to be successful though, your opponent must be paying attention. This move only works against players looking for them. Make sure the other players take note of your behavior. This technique is best used as part of a long con of sorts to set up the perfect time to strike and force a major mistake.
The best time to make a reverse tell is when you’re making a bet, calling a bet, or making a raise. Your opponent is typically watching you closely and deciding whether to call or fold. Here are two simple reverse tells.
Every time you pick up a big hand or inversely a weak one and are making a value-bet or raise, make sure to talk inanely about some topic of conversation. Act as if you wish to draw attention away from the hand. Once you think your opponent has picked up on this, start doing the same with your bluffs or moves to suck them in.
People typically get physically closer to their cards and chips when they have a strong hand, and inversely farther away when they’re weak. Use this information to your advantage. Bleed your opponent by acting like these are the worst cards you have seen all night and can’t wait to get rid of them, or bluff and big bet by cozying up to the table and those cards.