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by Al Sousa (site owner)
In chapter 2 of Read 'Em and Reap Navarro outlines how the brain cannot lie. The limbic part of our brain is our reactive brain and it is very hard to control. "in real time, without thought; and, for that reason, it gives off an honest response to incoming information from the environment" (Read 'Em And Reap, Page 27).
To get a better idea of what this means, imagine you come home from a long day of work and open your front door only to be surprised by 30 people screaming "happy birthday!". That initial reaction you have is uncontrollable and part of the limbic system. This same reaction happens in poker.
So when in poker do players react impusively? Most of the time you will find players react implusively when dealing with the cards. This means the very instant their senses pick up the unknown stimulus from a new card being viewed their brain gives them away, and I do mean instant.
Preflop: Players peeking at their cards are reactive to their holdings. The more distracted the player is when looking at their hole cards the more accurate their reaction. For example a player flirting with the waitress looks down at both his hole cards and finds AA will have a greater impulsive reaction to his holdings than someone that is simply waiting their turn to look at their cards one at a time. The 1st player is unprepared and not expecting to find what he did, the 2nd player is perpared for the possibility of what he might have. Just like you would be less shocked by a surprise birthday party if your wife told you she had something special planned that day.
Flop, Turn, and River: Players are excited to play poker, they can't wait for the next card. Most poor players never think ahead about their hand so they are unsure of what to expect by the next card that comes, its an exciting surprise, its gambling. They look at the board in anticipation of each card the dealer places on the table to see if their hand improves or the board becomes scary. When that card hits the felt is when their impusive reaction is given off.
Ok so what am I looking for in the reaction? In general a positive feeling reaction means strength, a negative feeling reaction means weakness. Actions like: slumping, eyebrows dropping, looking away, pushing their cards away, sliding back, looking uninterested, frowning, are all negative reaction to things one does not like. Think of when someone offers you a food you absolutely hate. You naturally shake your head no, want it to go away, don't want to smell it, you move away from it, and don't even want to look at it. The same applies to poker situations.
Examples of positive feeling reacations: eyebrows shoot up, they glance at their chips "oh boy how much should I bet", their feet rise, they sit up taller or more forward, they protect their cards, they move closer to the action, they seem interested in whats happening, they look around at the other players or stack sizes. These are all positive reactions just as if someone hands you $100. You are happy to get a surprise $100 for free and are gleefully showing your approval.
In multiway pots this reaction will be more apparent in players than in heads up pots. Most players are hoping to hit something big in a multiway pot otherwise they have better things to do and won't worry about everyone else. (The better players are paying attention to the action in or out of a hand.) In a multiway pots if a player noticed he missed the flop they move on to the football game on the big screen, chatting, or grabbing their drink. Heads up pots players pay more attention to the situation. On a simple level this goes back to being prepared for the surprise.
EXAMPLE #1: In a 1/2 cash game I had raised preflop with a T T UTG, I had 1 caller from middle position. The flop came down K8 3 and I led out at the pot vs an unmoved opponent. (Notice it was heads up and he was trying not to give off any information) I was quickly called. As the dealer was flipping the burn card I paid attention to my opponent's body language. The turn card was dealt and the instant the A hit the felt my opponent's eyes rolled to the back and his head dipped slightly. I knew 100% he did not like that card. I bet out and he folded face up KQ, the winning hand.
EXAMPLE #2: In a large multi-table tournament I was watching the table as the cards were dealt. The UTG player was talking to the BB player about his misforune of cards so far looking worn and unhappy. He waited for both his cards to be dealt before he looked at them. He was short stacked (9 big blinds) and had been waiting patiently for a hand. He stopped chatting looked down at his cards, perked up, and glanced at his chips. I was in the CO telling myself "I hope no one has a big hand because he looks like he does". The UTG player raises 1/2 his stack confirming my read, he should have pushed all in with 9bbs. All folded to me and I find KK underneath in the CO. I pray my opponent doesn't have AA by my read and raise all in (18 BBs) to get it heads up. Sure enough he happily calls and flips over AA.
Even though I had a read on this player that was accurate it does not mean I would fold KK here in this situation. Identifying behavior patterns is not to be used to identify specific hands for an opponent. It is used to gauge the strength or weakness of their hand. Keep this in mind when using this tool in poker.
Next is acting tells
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