Navarro says there are important verbal tells, too
Re-published courtesy of our content partner Ante Up Magazine.
You’re an expert in non-verbal behavior, but surely during your studies you’ve heard plenty of comments. With the WSOP approving table talk this year, what are some verbal cues (e.g. cracked voice, incessant chatter) you’ve discovered and what do you think they mean? — Matt Cooper, via email
That is a great question and one I hear more and more. Over the years, I’ve found people who lack confidence, people who are weak or marginal, tend to have a few vocal tells worthy of mentioning. When we are stressed, we tend to make more speech errors and our vocal chords get strained so the pitch of our voice goes up.
Ask another player a question and the cough or the need to clear their throat before answering may tell you they’re suddenly weak. Or they answer and the voice cracks or goes up an octave.
If you hear these things, chances are something is bothering the player; the question is what is it? Is it stress because they’re marginal or weak, or are they hiding their strength? That’s where betting patterns come in to help you sort that out.
What is the most common tell you see at the poker tables? — Lisa Patterson, via email.
Three tells are most prominent in poker, though more than 200 have been identified and studied. The most common one is lip compression, which just about everyone does when something is bothering them.
The next one is neck touching when something you see or hear is an issue.
Are you playing non-exploitable poker?
Re-published courtesy of our content partner Ante Up Magazine.
Much has been written about exploiting opponents on the felt. This is a critical part of the game. If you can’t identify and exploit the weakness in opponents, you’ll rarely have an edge and ultimately you won’t be successful. I’m quite sure every winning player spends a great deal of time and energy on this aspect of the game.
What is less certain is how much time and energy is spent on a related aspect of the game: making yourself less exploitable by opponents.
Take a minute now to do some soul-searching and ask yourself how much time and energy you spend working on exploiting others vs. working on preventing your exploitation.
Be honest. I’m guessing you spend more time on the former. There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t believe an equal amount of time needs to be expended on both or that there’s any right percentage.
Every player is different and should play to his strengths to maximize his profits. However, I do think players at every skill level could spend more time and energy working on making their play less exploitable.
So, how do you do this? Mixing up your play and not being predictable is obviously a good starting point. However, poker isn’t played in a vacuum.
If you’ve been super tight in a tournament and find yourself getting short-stacked when everyone folds to you on the button, you may feel your tight image has built some fold equity for you and it’s time to make a move.
Final Table Set for Windy City Poker Championship June Event
July 21-24 marked another successful tournament series at the American Legion Post 615 in Tinley Park, IL. The Main Event played its Days 1a & 1b on Friday and Saturday, respectively, with 32 players returning on Sunday, June 24 to play down to the final 6.
At left, the final seven players, from left to right - Stephen Kidder, Nader Mohebbi, Arthur Britton Jr, Gary Carr, Dave (Fishy Fish) Backstrom, Mike Kleinstub, and Ryan Hickey. Britton Jr. bubbled the TV table in 7th place.
The final table will be broadcast live on Chicago Poker Club on Sunday, July 8, starting at noon, and hosted by Windy City Poker Championship host, Jason Finn (that's this author.) Additional details can be found on the site as available. The final table will be filmed at The Charley Horse Restaurant in New Lennox, IL (901 E. Lincoln Hwy.) Spectators are welcome, so come on out and cheer on your favorite player, or discover a new one.