The game of Texas Hold’em poker has come a long way since the first days of Chris Moneymaker. Today almost any amateur player could tell you their odds of winning or they could at least tell you whether they put their money in the middle with the best hand. I am constantly blasted everyday with bad beat stories of how this guy sucked out on me and I lost my whole stack, as they head towards the door or the nearest ATM.
Truth is that’s poker, all we can do as players is get all in with the best hand. Or is it? We’ve all heard of tells, but are you paying close enough attention to see them? Chances are you’re not. In dealing poker for a big casino, I am forced to pay attention and often times see people making bad calls or bad bluffs simply because they haven’t saw what I’ve saw. This is why I address this aspect of poker, because I feel it is the area in which most everyone can improve their game.
Pages upon pages can be filled with the different poker tells and they have in a great book that I feel is a must read if you’re looking to improve your game. Phil Hellmuth presents Read ‘Em and Reap by Joe Navarro, FBI Special Agent Ret. with Marvin Karlins. I know what you’re thinking Phil Hellmuth, I can’t stand watching him whine on ESPN, but he plays a small part in this book. However, Joe Navarro plays a huge part as he takes all those years of profiling for the FBI to the poker tables. You will find yourself having flashbacks to hands, thinking I gave off that tell or that’s exactly why I called that guy. So give yourself an edge over every other poker player and pick up this book.
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