Author Archives: Zachary Elwood

About Zachary Elwood

The author of Reading Poker Tells, the critically-acclaimed book about poker tells and poker psychology.

$500 Pendleton tournament – Immediate check-behind from aggressor raises red flags

This past weekend I played in several tournaments at Wild Horse Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. I played a $200, a $300, and a $500 buy-in. I had some pretty bad luck, but I also did some stupid stuff that probably … Continue reading

Posted in Poker Tells, Poker Tournament, Poker Trip Report | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Quitting job, WSOP tournaments, other stuff

I recently quit a full-time job I was working for the past 9 months in order to focus on some personal projects, including playing more poker and working on a video project related to my book. I’m trying to sell … Continue reading

Posted in Poker Tournament | 3 Comments

Guest blog post from poker player Daniel Steinberg

I received an interesting email from Daniel Steinberg, who’s an ex-poker-pro with some very good online and live results. He’s obviously got a lot of poker experience, so his opinions are worth listening to. I’ve included some of my responses … Continue reading

Posted in Online Poker, Poker Tells, Poker Tells Book, Psychology | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Immediate calls – a badly written chapter of my book

A reader pointed out an inconsistent section of my book on the subject of immediate calls so I wanted to draw attention to it for everyone’s sake.

Posted in Poker Tells Book, Psychology | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Got third in a fairly big tournament: thoughts on poker tells

This past weekend I played a $215 tourney at Chinook Winds, put on by Deepstacks Poker. Out of about 280 players, I got third for $5,700. I feel like I’m playing my best tournament game I’ve ever played; I can … Continue reading

Posted in Poker Tells, Poker Tournament, Poker Trip Report, Psychology | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

More on immediate calls (snap-calls) in No Limit Hold’em

More analysis of factors that might influence immediate calls in No Limit Hold’em poker.

Posted in Poker Strategy, Poker Tells, Psychology | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

A Snap-Call Theory

A theory about snap-calling and what it is most likely to mean.

Posted in Poker Strategy, Poker Tells, Psychology | Tagged , | 3 Comments

$2-5: quick call of turn bet indicates probable draw

A poker tell from $2-5 NLHE; a quick call of a turn bet indicates a high likelihood of a strong drawing hand.

Posted in Poker Cash Game, Poker Tells, Psychology | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Poker tells at live $1-2 no-limit

Some observations about finding and using poker tells in a $1-2 no limit poker cash game.

Posted in Poker Tells | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Length of time looking at hole cards: a really useful heads-up poker tell

Link to a post where I talk about a very useful heads up poker tell: the length of time a player initially looks at their hole cards.

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An American playing poker in Paris: Cercle Cadet trip report

A short overview of Paris poker rooms and a trip report about visiting the Cercle Cadet poker club in Paris, France.

Posted in Poker Trip Report | Tagged | 3 Comments

Guy Laliberte’s poker tells, Part 3: bet timing and leaning back in the chair

Examining Guy Laliberte’s poker tells, this post looks at a bet-timing imbalance and a tendency Guy seems to have of leaning back in his chair following a bluff.

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Studying Guy Laliberte’s poker tells, Part 2

A second post about Guy Laliberte’s possible poker tells, this time delving back into some footage from High Stakes Poker, the Big Game, and some tournaments, all from several years ago.

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One Drop Tournament: Guy Laliberte’s poker tells

First of a series of posts on Guy Laliberte’s possible poker tells. Covers some general Laliberte poker history and focuses on his performance at the $1 Million buy-in One Drop poker tournament.

Posted in Poker Tells, Poker Tournament, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chris Moneymaker getting a live read on Chris Oliver

Chris Moneymaker seems to get a good live read on his opponent Chris Oliver in this footage from a televised tournament.

Posted in Favorites, Poker Tells, Poker Tournament | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Phil Ivey talks about poker tells

Phil Ivey recently did an interview with Nolan Dalla where he said he thinks a lot about the facial expressions of his poker opponents.

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Mental and emotional stress of poker

Some thoughts on dealing with the emotional stress of poker.

Posted in Psychology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

I’m interviewed on High Roller Radio, a poker podcast

I’m interviewed on an online gambling and poker radio show called High Roller Radio.

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Reading Poker Tells e-book now available

The Reading Poker Tells e-book is now available for sale.

Posted in Favorites, Poker Tells Book | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

I’m interviewed on Badugi Allstars poker podcast

I appear on the Badugi Allstars poker podcast, to talk about poker tells, and my book.

Posted in Favorites, Poker Tells, Poker Tells Book | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

More poker tells in Rounders (besides KGB’s Oreo)

The movie Rounders contains more poker tells than Teddy KGB’s Oreo cookie tell. There are also many instances of the verbal tells I call “disclaimers”, where people try to explain away the reason behind their actions.

Posted in Favorites, Poker Tells, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Trying to influence villain to call or fold (false tells)

An email thread from a guy asking about the efficacy of using a false poker tell to get an opponent to call or fold.

Posted in Favorites, Poker Tells, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Immediate calls are usually a drawing hand

A player’s immediate call of my turn raise lets me narrow down his hand range greatly.

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Silence in previously talkative guy equals discomfort

A guy who’s been talking a lot suddenly gets quiet after raising pre-flop. This tells me he’s not feeling too comfortable with his hand.

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Genuinely angry call means weakness

In a limit game, I raise on the flop and a guy exhibits genuine anger when calling my raise. This obvious poker tell allows me to narrow his hand range greatly.

Posted in Limit Poker, Poker Tells | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments