Shuffle Up and Deal

Originally Posted by Dr. Giganto

My first trip to Vegas two years ago, I played in a tournament at the Luxor. I finished 5th out of 80 and made $90 (buy-in was only $30). Thats the only tournament I ever played in.

I always get smoked playing no-limit in casinos. It's very annoying. Playing limit, I win more than I lose. Limit is much more about odds and strategy, and less about reading opponents. Being a mathematical/analytical thinker, limit is more my style. I'm not very good at reading people, although there are 3 or 4 common tells that I often look for when playing in casinos.

First off, when the cards come down, don't watch the cards, watch your opponent. If he sees the flop and then quickly glances at his chip stack (or your chip stack), that means he likes what he just saw, and he's thinking about how much money he's going to make. Also, if he stares at the flop for a long time, it probably didnt hit him.

If 3 cards of the same suit come down and the player looks back at his cards, he probably doesnt have the flush. People always remember when they have suited cards, so they would know right away whether or not they have the flush. However, people usually dont remember the suits of their cards when they're different suits. Thus, he's checking to see if one of his cards matches the cards on the flop.

Consequently, in this situation if somebody bets without looking back at his cards, he's probably got a strong hand. He's either already made a flush, or has a strong hand (trips, 2 pair, etc) that he doesnt want somebody drawing out on.

A common tell is that a player with a monster hand will often have shaky hands, because he is excited to have a good hand. Watch a guy's hands, and if he's shaking when he makes his bet, fold unless you also have a monster, or are drawing to a monster.

Along similar lines, look for how a player "protects" his cards. Some players will protect the cards more strongly when he has a good hand. Like anything else, you are more protective of things that are valuable to you, and the player might keep a good pair of cards underneath his hands, whereas he might just let them sit unprotected in front of him if they are mediocre.