One of the ten greatest books written on poker, this must-have book should be in every player's library. If you're serious about winning, you'll realize that most of the profit comes from being able to read your opponents. Caro reveals the secrets of interpreting tells - physical reactions that reveal information about a player's cards - such as shrugs, sighs, shaky hands, eye contact, and many more. Learn when opponents are bluffing, when they aren't and why - based solely on their mannerisms. Over 170 photos of players in action and play-by-play examples show the actual tells. These powerful ideas will give you the decisive edge. 320 pages
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A classic, and one of the most well known books on poker, it's been published again and again under different publishers with very slight changes over the years.
It's one of the only books on tells, or body language in poker - a bit surprising, considering the hundreds of poker books in print, and the popular conception that tells are a huge part of the game.
Caro, also known as "the Mad Genius of Poker," is a top-level poker player, credited as the best draw player in the world. Or was, at least - draw poker all but died out when other forms became legal in California, and he hasn't been heard from as much since then. Regardless, he's still extremely smart, a great teacher, and is always entertaining reading.
The book covers around fifty different "tells," of various types. Some are general profiling, such as what you can infer about an unfamiliar opponent's style by the way they dress or stack their chips. Most are behavioral - what it means when someone acts immediately, without pausing to think, when someone glances down at their chips after the flop, when they "splash" chips into the pot instead of stacking them, etc. A common theme is that "strong means weak" and "weak means strong" - when they sigh and shrug their shoulders as they raise, get out. It seems so basic, but often holds true even at relatively high levels. There are logical tells too, like when a conservative player bets without looking at his last card in stud, he already has a made hand.
One tell I've found very useful is when a player's hand starts to shake uncontrollably as he or she bets on the last round. Most people's initial thought would be that they're nervous and bluffing. In reality, it usually means they have a nearly unbeatable hand. The shaking is a release of tension; a natural, involuntary response as the nervous uncertainty of the hand's outcome is resolved. The shaking is most likely to occur when the stakes are very meaningful to the player. Sometimes this one is visible even on the WPT or WSOP coverage on TV. Even those who play for thousands every day can't control their reactions when they're suddenly playing for millions.
On the downside, the book's age shows. The pictures are grainy and black-and-white, and highlight fashion trends of the 1980s. Several of the tells are specific to draw poker, like determining whether a player who draws one has two pair or a four-flush; not very useful anymore, but still interesting.
For each tell, the text estimates how many weak, average, and strong players will exhibit the specific behavior, and gives a value for how much you can gain by understanding it and being observant. These are useful as generalizations, such as which will rarely apply in a higher limit game against more experienced players, but the "value per hour" figures are crazy. At the $100 limit, various tells are supposedly worth $11/hour, $96, $43, $128, etc. If that were true, a break-even player who studied this book would suddenly be making thousands per hour.
Reading people's body language isn't nearly that big a part of poker. Most decisions at the table are fairly clear based on the cards and logic. Only in borderline situations do tells become valuable, and even then, you have to be pretty sure your read is accurate; if you fold the best hand on the end based on a read you thought was accurate, when you would have called otherwise, you've just cost yourself the whole pot.
Lots of people have bought this book, or similar material, with the idea of studying it and suddenly making a killing, with no more than a basic understanding of poker. This is misguided, and probably not possible. Technical skill and a solid understanding of poker theory and game situations are far more important. Reading people is a useful and interesting supplement to that, not a replacement for playing well.
That said, I'd recommend this book to anyone. Even casual, kitchen table players will find it readable, interesting, and useful - maybe more so than more experienced players since their opponents will have a lot of obvious tells to be read.
Caro's Book of Poker Tells
Types of Poker Players
What type of poker player are you? What type of poker player are your opponents? If you can’t answer those two questions, you’re missing a key component of your game. Poker players are generally classified by two attributes – tight or loose and aggressive or passive. These combine to create the four main player types:
* Tight-Aggressive
* Tight-Passive
* Loose-Aggressive
* Lose-Passive
Most successful poker players fall into the Tight-Aggressive category. That is not to say that all successful players are Tight-Aggressive, because that is definitely not true. A Tight-Aggressive player will usually only see a flop with a solid hand. That is what makes them tight. When they do latch onto a good hand, they will bet very aggressively. Because they are tight, they do not bluff very often, and when they do bet, they should be taken very seriously.
A Tight-Passive player is sometimes labeled as a scared player. These players tend to only play very good hands, and they will only raise when they have a strong hand. Since they are not risk takers, these players are better suited for limit games than no-limit games. If a Tight-Passive player makes or calls a raise, you’ll usually want to get out of their way unless you’re holding a big hand.
A Loose-Aggressive player is sometimes referred to as a maniac because they will play almost any hand and bet and raise even when they have nothing. These players are outrageous bluffers, which makes it difficult to gauge when they are actually holding a strong hand and when they are making a bluff with nothing. Playing against Loose-Aggressive layers can be extremely frustrating and it can take extreme patience to take all of their chips.
A Loose-Passive players is also referred to as a “calling station” in poker slang. These players will call almost any bet with any cards, but they seldom raise or fold after seeing the flop. These players are almost impossible to bluff because it is so difficult to get them to fold.
Now that you know the types of poker players, try to classify yourself and your poker buddies into those categories. The most successful poker players don’t fit into one category precisely, because they are able to mix up their play and fit into different categories during a cash game or tournament. The more you are able to successfully mix up your style of play, the harder it will be for your opponents to get a read on you.
The Poker Mindset: Essential Attitudes for Poker Success
What "secret" separates top poker players from poker wannabes?
Is it zen-like mind-reading skills, a computer-like brain or thousands of hours of play? No. It is a series of established approaches and behaviors that enables these experts to bring their "A" game to the table session after session, regardless of short-term results.
In this groundbreaking book, Taylor and Hilger lay bare the secrets of the Poker Mindset: seven core attitudes and concepts that ensure you have the optimal emotional, psychological, and behavioral framework for playing superior poker.
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The Poker Mindset deeply explores vital topics that most poker books only touch upon:
- Tilt: What it really is, why and when you are most prone to it, and how you can avoid it.
- Bankroll: A complete examination of bankroll management from a technical, but more importantly, from a psychological and emotional viewpoint.
- Opponents: How to determine your competitors' mental and emotional processes so that you can dominate, out think and outplay them.
- Downswings: Every poker player experiences them, but you will truly understand and be armed against low ebbs when they occur.
- Bad Beats: The Poker Mindset will enable you to overcome the trauma of bad beats and losing big pots.
Poker is a fun game, but it is even more fun when you win. The Poker Mindset may be the most valuable poker book you will ever read. Embrace its concepts and you can overcome the unseen obstacles that are limiting your success at the table.
When you make the Poker Mindset your mindset, you will take control of your game and walk away a winner.
About the Author
About Matthew Hilger
Matthew Hilger's interest in professional poker is three-fold: playing, writing, and managing poker content websites. His first two books, Internet Texas Hold'em and Texas Hold'em Odds and Probabilities, became best-selling poker books around the world.
Matthew received his bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Georgia in 1989. He completed a master's degree in Finance at Georgia State University in 1991 as well as a master's degree in International Business from Thunderbird in 1996. Prior to embarking on a poker career, Matthew worked in various accounting, finance, and consulting positions.
Matthew cashed eight times at the World Series of Poker between 2004 and 2006, including one final table and a 33rd place finish in the main event. He also won the 2002 New Zealand Poker Championship.
About Ian Taylor
Ian Taylor is a professional poker player and writer. His articles have appeared in a number of websites and publications, mainly focusing on poker psychology, variance, and emotional control. You can find Ian posting on a regular basis in the Forum discussion group at InternetTexasHoldem.com.
Ian received a degree in economics from the University of Warwick in 1999, completing a thesis on risk tolerance and gambling. He worked in the IT sector for a number of years before embarking on a professional poker career.
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