Watching the Mouth and Throat
The throat and back of the face area of a poker player actually can reveal many clues of the strength of a player’s hand. Often the what goes on with the swallowing, movement of the tongue and teeth will be able to show signals of stress that reveals a weak hand.
Betting With A Swallow
Depending on the type of player, and the way they handle the pressure of poker, a swallow after betting is often a rather weak bet or a signal of fear. A player who swallows shows nerves, or that they are only really on a draw. The Adam’s apple in male players will often bob up and down when they swallow. Keeping a keen eye on this from the front and from a side view will be able to reap many rewards.
Twitching Of The Jaw
Although many players are aware and have practiced their frontal poker face and try their best to show no emotions and no smile or frown, they still have to find a way to relieve the stress. Some players like to maybe tap their feet, but often to relieve stress or weakness, many players grind their teeth. The grinding of the teeth allows them to forget about their emotions, but is a major tell since this leads to a twitching of the face. Always watch for the twitching to see whether a person’s hand is weak. If there is no twitching, then the player is more likely to be strong.
Licking the Lips
This tell often occurs when a player sees the flop. They have just been dealt their hole cards and are keen to see whether their cards improve. On first glance, they do not like the cards they see so a quick lick of the lips may occur out of the limbic part of the brain. Not that they consciously do it, it just happens because their body does not like what they see.
Always watch the mouth or the throat before looking at the cards that are dealt.
