Poker is a brilliant blend of strategy and psychology. Tells are signs from which you can determine whether your opponent is bluffing -- just by noting her mannerisms at the moment. Watch your opponent’s body language and listen for verbal clues, and you’ll often know with surprising accuracy what cards your opponent is holding.

Tells come in two types:

• Those from opponents who are unaware that they are providing the tell
• Those from “actors” who know they are providing the tell and are doing so in an attempt to deceive you

Here are a few examples of each:

• Shaking Hand (usually not an act): Few players act in an effort to show nervousness, and genuine shaking is hard to fake. What most likely is happening is this: Your opponent has made a very strong hand. The hand is, in fact, unbeatable or almost unbeatable. What you’re seeing is a release of tension following the suspense of waiting to see what will happen. Likewise, jittering and fidgeting is usually not an act.
• Changes in Breathing (usually not an act): This unconscious tell is one of the strongest in poker. If you’re seated near the opponent, you often will be able to hear this tell. But even if you’re seated across the table, you sometimes can see it by the movements of the person’s diaphragm.
• The key here is that players who make strong hands tend to become excited and need to breathe faster. Players who are bluffing, on the other hand, tend to disguise their breathing and sometimes stop entirely.
• Looking Away (usually an act): A player looking away from you tends to be more dangerous than a player looking at you. There are only two possibilities here: Either that player really isn’t interested -- so why risk a bet? -- or the player is acting to deceive you. If the player is acting, then she’s trying to make your bet comfortable. Don’t be fooled.
• Staring at You (likely an act): This usually is a dare, an attempt to prevent your bet through intimidation. Instead of being intimidated by an opponent staring you down, simply consider that you can make more borderline bets for profit when you hold marginally strong hands.