Tell
A change in how a player acts or bets that hints at the strength of their hand.
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- What it means
- A tell is any behavior that carries information about a hand: a bet size, the time taken, how chips are handled, what is said. Betting patterns are the most reliable kind and the only kind online.
- How it is calculated
- A tell means something only against that player's baseline, and only when it repeats. Use it to tip a close decision. Do not use it to overrule the price and the ranges.
- Worked example
- A player who usually takes 5 seconds calls a flop bet at once on 3 separate draw-heavy boards and shows a draw each time. That is a pattern worth a note. Seeing it 1 time is not.
- Why it matters
- Physical tells are a small edge on top of sound strategy, mostly against inexperienced live players. Knowing their limits stops you paying for a read that was never there.
See also: Baseline, False tell, Bet-size tell