Are Dealer Tells Useful?

Dealer tells, no matter how subtle they are, are still quite useful in blackjack. If you would be able to read them you would be able to determine whether the dealer has a low or a high value hole card and accordingly play your hand. The dealer will not look at the hole card till all the players have completed their hands so in those cases dealer tells will not be useful. However, if the dealer has a ten or an ace as the up card, he/she would have to check the hole card to check for blackjack. This happens approximately 5 out of 13 hands so reading tells at that point of time can still make a significant difference to your profits.

Understanding Dealer Tells

When a dealer would check the hole card, he/she would know the value of that hand. The tells at that moment should be very carefully observed. Observe to see if there is anything peculiar in the mannerisms of the dealer. Watch the expressions of the dealer, where the eyes are rested, where the dealer places his/her hands. You would have to be attuned to even very minor changes in the tone of the voice, the demeanor and the expressions of the dealer.

If the tell is not obvious you can also draw it out if you hesitate over your hand. When you linger over the hand and deliberate over the decision, the dealer might get a little agitated and frustrated and that would be the time for probable tells. Once you establish a mental image of the dealer’s mannerisms, posture, demeanor and behavior you would have to wait for the next round. You would also have to learn to remember the expressions of the dealer when each type of hole card was revealed and put two and two together though it might take some time to do so.

In any case, if you are unable to understand the dealer’s tells the best thing to do is to stick to basic strategy but if you are reading the tells well you would be able to make a logical decision. Dealer tells can be really difficult to recognize since dealers are very well trained. They play internet blackjack day in and day out with all types of players and are especially trained by the casinos to ensure that they are not demonstrative of the hands that they have, but in some cases it is still possible to recognize the tells.

The point of using a bankroll is to give yourself as many shots a big score as possible. If a player is playing $200 tournaments with a $500 bankroll, he is going to have 2.5 shots at a big score. However, if that player adjusts and starts to play $5 tournaments with his $500 bankroll, he is going to have 100 shots at a big score. The difference is staggering and should not be overlooked by any player.

Under each game, there are going to be three categories, “Pro”, “Protected” and “Unprotected”. Pro means the player is using bankroll management that a professional player would abide by. Protected shows the bankroll management skills of a conservative player while unprotected shows the bankroll management skills of someone who is “taking shots” at FullTiltPoker.com bigger tournaments and ignoring his bankroll.

No Limit Hold Em Cash

For a “Pro,” proper bankroll management skills would say that the player should not play at a game level where he has less than 45 buy-ins. This means that if he sits down with $11, he should at least have a $4500 bankroll. When a player drops down to just being conservative, then he should not play where he has less than 25 buy-ins. Lastly, when a player is playing with poor bankroll management, he never plays where he has less than 15 buy-ins.

Sit and Go

A Pro never plays at a level where he has less than 65 buy-ins, a conservative player never plays where he has less than 45 buy-in and an unprotected player never plays where he has less than 20 buy-ins.

MTT

A Pro never plays at a level where he has less than 200 buy-ins, a conservative player never plays where he has less than 100 buy-in and an unprotected player never plays where he has less than 40 buy-ins.

By nature, people tend to act the same in similar conditions. Behavior is somewhat predictable. When paying attention, you will notice players only entering the pot with a top ten hand when playing under the gun. Other players may raise from late position and bet out only when they flop a draw, while checking when the board hits them. Still other players may bet automatically on the flop, or even when checked to. Each of these patterns says something about our opposition’s game. When patterns of this nature are identified, it takes a small amount of effort to exploit these patterns.

How to Exploit Betting Patterns

After identifying betting patterns in our opposition, we want to devise a strategy to punish them for playing predictable. When encountering a player who bets draws, putting in a raise behind them when you suspect they are drawing. When the turn comes, bet out and watch them fold. Other players get into the habit of raising with superior preflop hands such as Ace – Queen suited, yet they check when they are without a pair and holding overs to the board. Betting out on the flop regardless of your holdings will pressure these weak players into folding when they miss. In the event they hit the FullTiltPoker.net board, they will often raise. Over the long haul, this move is profitable when encountering the player who habitually checks when flopping overs after a preflop raise.

Other players play top hands from early position, betting when they miss, checking when they hit. When encountering this player, check behind when checked to while raising when they lead out. They will become frustrated while watching you take their money, wondering how it is you have their number.

By identifying trends in opposing player’s poker play, we can devise a strategy to maximize our profits against these predictable players by punishing them with tactics designed to exploit their ABC poker play.