You are in the exact position you have been dreaming of. The final two tables of the big, live tournament have thinned to almost one. You know that a final table finish will do a ton for your confidence and, of course, assure sizable price money. With enough chips to coast to the final table in front of you, the images of a nice payday are already dancing in your head.
The big stack at the table limps from early position. You pause to consider the motivation of his move. Before you can gather your thoughts, the guy in front of you peeks at his cards and immediately acts with a bold raise.
Your mind eases before you look at your cards, as you contemplate the situation. You are more than willing to let these other two duke it out on this hand, so you subtly expect to be folding this hand. You take in a deep breath and attempt to relax just before looking at your hole cards. It's your usual routine. You are undeniably surprised to see two black aces looking right back up at you. Involuntarily your pupils dilate, your heart begins to race, and you quickly push the cards back onto the table and consider the size of your raise. Many amateurs and even some pros are susceptible to displaying tells at the most inopportune time. In this scenario a couple of common tell inducers combined forces: pressure and anticipation.
Pressure often pushes us to reveal ourselves. A bluff for a fifty-cent pot in your break room at work will never replicate the pressure encountered at a World Series of Poker event, and as we climb our personal poker ladder each rung provides new challenges to work through. The promise of money, the spotlight, and our own personal goals and aspirations can be a heavy weight to shoulder. While experience is the best fuel to combat these sorts of nerves, inexperienced players can work on confidence and psychological toughness too.
Anticipation can be a more unexpected source of tells. In our example, you were fully anticipating a glance at your cards and a toss into the muck. When you were shocked to find aces in the hole, you reacted impulsively. This happens way too often to many poker players.
After logging hours of play, we get lulled into a state of psychological cruise control. With each new hand we start to expect more of the same mediocre hands. Similarly, we sometimes allow our minds to race with anticipation as we await the Turn or River. Our mind is screaming, "Heart, show me a heart." It is imperative that we mentally prepare ourselves for each and every hand.
Like a basketball player lining up for a foul shot, many savvy poker players will establish a routine that they rely upon each hand. A poker routine should include a quick pause in which you clear your mind from any preconceived notion about what you are about to see when you take your first look at your cards.
Players often pull down their caps and hide behind their dark sunglasses when a key hand is under way, trying to guard against giving up a tell. In reality, many of us are setting ourselves up for tells by succumbing to pressure or anticipating cards. Be confident, be calm, be prepared, and stick to your routine to assure that you are not telling on yourself.
