Sports & Gaming
Spotting Tells: Hand Reviews
Lesson time 14:03 min
Using footage from two different hands, Daniel pinpoints the exact moments that he picked up on live reads from his opponents, and reveals how he used that valuable information to maximize value and mitigate loss.
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Topics include: Detecting a Reverse Tell vs. Nick Schulman.Identifying a Likely Sign of Strength vs. Sándor Demján
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DANIEL: So this is a very interesting hand that took place in a high roller event in the Bahamas against some really tough opponents. And typically, when you're playing against really top-notch competition, you're going to have to elevate your game and maybe make some decisions that you wouldn't make against weaker players. So in this case, I was really zoned in, and really focused, and trying to pick up any sort of reads that I could. And a big part of the reason why I end up playing the hand the way that I do is based on a physical live read. And we're going to go over that next. COMMENTATOR: And he just calls. He doesn't raise. DANIEL So this is an interesting decision. Obviously, poker's evolved and changed. And I don't really have much of a button-limping range any more. But shorthanded, it's actually not so bad. In a hand like ace, 2, soft suit, obviously, you know, I can go ahead and raise with it. If I do get three bet-- someone reraises me-- I have to fold this hand. It's just not very good. I also feel like it's a little bit deceptive. Because typically, when players are on the button and have an ace, they're going to go ahead and raise. So if I do get lucky enough to flop an ace, this might be a situation where I can extract a little bit of value. Because my limping range is usually going to be something like-- people are going to perceive it to be hands, like jack 8, jack 9, jack 10, queen 9, all hands that range from, say, for example, 8 to king. I'm going to have some sort of two-card combo in that range. That's going to be my typical limping range. So when I do have ace, deuce, I can profit from hitting the ace. And I can also represent when some of those boards come, and it would be credible. COMMENTATOR: Katchalov will make the call from the small blind. Schulman can see a free flop if he so wishes. And he will check from the big blind. King, 9, suit is a hand that Eugene may have free bet with had Daniel raised. Queen, 4 4. No really catches anything. Negreanu's ace high still good. Katchalov checks. DANIEL Schulman's likely to end up playing the board. He checks as well. So one thing that they didn't show on camera here that I was really looking at was Nick Schulman eyes. And when he saw this flop, he did sort of a chip glance, and it was a very blatant one. And typically, when people glance their chips, it's because they'd really like to flop. But Nick is a crafty, tricky player. So I perceive that as him wanting to set up a bluff for the next street. So in my mind, he's too good to have that obvious tell. So it was what we call a reverse tell. And you always want to be cognizant and aware of that. So you see something like a chip glance. Typically, what that means is they like what they see. Against really accomplished players who do that, it doesn't necessarily mean that. In this case, I thought Nick was simply trying to, like, pretend with his demeanor that he had a 4 and was going to ...
About the Instructor
Put yourself across the felt from Daniel Negreanu, the biggest live tournament poker winner of all time. The six-time World Series of Poker champion teaches poker strategy, advanced theory, and practice through hand-reviews of his winning games. Learn how to sharpen your mental game through demos on reading opponents and spotting tells. Join Daniel at the table to increase your win rate, grow your ROI, and get your game “in the money.”
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Daniel Negreanu
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