Caro's Book of Poker Tells

by Mike Caro

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Reviewer:  Wixx - Caro Tells Tells not Tales

Mike Caro is a mastermind and his insight into poker tells is as useful as one would expect. The book was written back before online poker existed and therefore is based on the tells of live poker. However, reading Caro’s Book of Poker Tells gets you thinking about how you can try to solve the riddle of what cards your opponent is playing in online games, as well as in live play. I like to look at this riddle as a puzzle, and seeing a tell is like opening a new puzzle and having several of the pieces put together for you. It does not solve the puzzle, but it sure does make it easier.

The tells themselves range from common knowledge, such as a player who shows weakness is holding a strong hand, and one who shows strength is holding rags or missed the flop, to things that get you in the winning frame of mind, such as when Caro suggests that you not watch the flop, but you should instead watch the other players watch the flop. A lot of times, no matter how good a player is at keeping a straight face, his or her eyes will give them away as they take in the cards as they are dealt. Caro covers everything down to which tables to sit at as he suggests that tables where you can hear laughter are the most profitable and that you should sit to the left of loose players as you want them to act before you do. These tips apply to the online world if you watch a little before you sit at a table to play, you want to play at the tables with the most active chats and try to sit to the left of the looser players if possible. Personally I have taken this strategy and before I sit down if there is more than one open seat, I try to figure out which seat will allow me to check to see the flop more often when I am in the big blind.

Sharing from his wealth of knowledge, Mr. Caro gives us a few points to ponder such as his statements that you should not treat your bankroll as a tournament buy in and that profit comes from your right. He also gives several straight forward tells like someone chewing gum may stop chewing when they are bluffing, or if someone's hand starts shaking they are not likely to be bluffing. Overall this is a great book for getting into the mind of your opponents and getting some tips from a master like Mike Caro. Remember, you do not get paid to win pots, you get paid to make good decisions.

Reviewer:  Kaycee7 not Tales

When I first started playing poker, specifically Texas Hold’em, it was completely and exclusively online. I learned to play quickly, make my decisions based solely on what I had seen my opponents do in the past and worried little about the potential tells that they were giving me. Then, I ventured into the realm of the live poker game and found myself floundering when faced with my opponents all seated at the same table, my heart raced, my hands shook…I needed help!

So I turned to the one man I knew could help…Mike Caro and his famous book of tells. While the photos are antiquated (Mike, just a suggestion, but it may be a good idea to put out a newer edition) and sometimes it’s difficult to see the “tell” in action, they sort of got the idea across. But the ideas are there, and if you are playing Bricks and Mortar, there’s no question in my mind that you need to be studying this book.

This is not a book for beginner poker players. If you don’t know what cards to play, what flops are dangerous and what makes a good draw then really, the way a person looks at their chips, touches their chin or twitches their eyebrow are hardly going to make you a great poker player. When I first read the book, my next session at the tables was laughable…I was staring at my opponents so much I forgot what to do with my cards! I was certain that I knew who was bluffing and who was holding monsters…incorrectly I might add!

I have three tells that I’m sticking to right now and as I get better I will add more to my repertoire. These are my personal favorites:

1. The double check-a person checks his or her cards after each turn of the card…I find this particularly helpful when it comes to flush draws...if someone has suited cards, chances are they will remember…this has really helped me win some pots that would have otherwise been scary.

2. The Chip Winner Who Plays the Next Pot: Someone has just won a large pot, is still cleaning up their chips... and bets into the next hand…They definitely have something!! Otherwise they’d be happy just sitting back and tidying up…

3. The Shaky Hand Bet: If someone is shaking while betting you can be darn sure that they have something so just stay away.

Right now, probably the most important things I’ve gotten out of this book are my own tells. I mean, you have to assume that everyone is reading it and therefore they’re looking at you just as you are looking at them. Now, I try to give them very little to look at.

It’s all quite logical when you think about it. But if you’re anything like me, you just wouldn’t have thought about it. Thank goodness Mike Caro is there to do our thinking for us! Really, if you play Bricks and Mortar, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you do not read this book.

Reviewer:  kegTAP14

Why is that guy staring off into space after betting 50 bucks into me? Why is this guy sitting like a corpse over here? Wow this guy just slammed down his chips when he made is bet….. he must have a monster. If only you could figure out why the people across the table from you do what they are doing. Caro’s Book of Poker Tells is exactly what you need. This book is written by the ‘Mad Genius’ of poker, Mike Caro. Caro is a leading poker theorist and an accomplished poker player, and Caro’s Book of Poker Tells shows why.

This book has three main sections, ‘Tells from those who are unaware’, ‘Tells from Actors’, and ‘General Tells’. Each section goes over a series of tells, what to look for and how you should act when you see these things. Some of them, like ‘Strong when Weak’ are fairly obvious given the topic. A player who forcefully puts his chips in on a bet or a raise and then stares hard at you very well could be bluffing. A lot of the tells Caro talks about are ones that many people probably don’t pick up on. I’ve spotted many of these since reading this book that I don’t think I’d ever noticed beforehand. A large number of photos accompany the explanation of each tell to further increase your understanding or to better explain what he is pointing out.

The only section of this book that I did not find helpful was the Mike Caro University Poker Charts. I honestly did not spend as much time looking at these charts as I could have, but it seemed to me that many were dedicated to draw poker and those that weren’t didn’t hold any information I couldn’t live without. If you were to look at the Poker Charts more closely they may hold some good value to them that I simply have overlooked, which definitely could be the case and wouldn’t be the first time.

Anyone who plays live poker with any consistency should definitely pick up a copy of Caro’s Book of Poker Tells. It will help you analyze your opponents and pick up tips on how to deal with many situations that live poker throws at you that you never have to think about sitting behind a computer. This is one of my favorite ‘how to’ poker books and one that I’ve read numerous times. I normally pick something new up out of it every time I read it and I’m sure you will too.

Reviewer:  Cheaty McBluff

Does Caro's Book of Tells Tell us Anything?

As almost every player I know did, I began playing poker with friends just after high school to kill some time. Being good at math I did better than most but it wasn't until late 2005 that I became serious about poker. There were always 1 or 2 players that dominated our games and they always seemed to win most of the hands. My friends and I always commented about how lucky they were and they just laughed.

Seeking to improve my live game I turned to the highly recommended "Caro's Book of Poker Tells". I had seen Mike Caro on television and was amazed that someone with his antics and high-strung nature could play let alone win at poker. After reading his book I can see why he is called "the Mad Genius". Mr. Caro's "act" at the table not only throws his opponents off their game but his knowledge of human nature and keen observation of others gives him a huge advantage over the other players.

I learned some very valuable pointers from his book.

Mr. Caro tells us how in his "law of loose wiring" the same hand could have different bets, bettors and results all predicated on the whim and fancy of the players. This is the basis for his entire book. If we are to battle the whimsical nature of the players we need some information about them to make better decisions. This information is available in this book.

Mr. Caro divides his book into three sections. The first is tells from the unaware. These are the tells from inexperienced players or those who are unaware. By careful observation you can classify behaviors and guide your betting accordingly.

The second section deals with tells from "actors". These are people who are trying to show you something knowing you are watching and influence your play by their deeds.

The final section deals with general tells which don't fall in the above categories and the last part of the book reviews the important tells and even offers a quiz where you can see a picture and guess what the person's behavior means. While most of the photos are quite dated they do illustrate the points quite clearly. Some time spent studying the information and the pictures really helped my home/live game play. I was able to close the gap on the regular winners and even surpass them on occasion. By eliminating my obvious tells, using a bit of acting to misdirect them and noting others behavior I was able to become a winner at our live games. After some conversation with them outside of the game they confessed that they had read Mr. Caro's book and thus what seemed to be luck was really observation and smart play.

I would recommend this book to anyone who plays any live poker. We can use any edge at the table and the most beneficial information one can have is knowing what tells are most common and eliminating them from your play! Not only can you learn from others tells but you can ensure you don't give any information out about your hands. You can even misdirect those who are sharp enough to watch you or those who may have read Mr. Caro's book!

This book was invaluable to me and I can't recommend it enough to everyone.

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