Professional Poker Player Reveals How To Tell If Someone Is Lying To You

1. Watch their facial expressions

Image source: Reddit

The very saying 'poker face' comes from poker playing, meaning that a poker player does not give themselves away in their expression. However, we are all human and sometimes out facial expressions flicker and respond to our subconscious even before we can manage it.

2. Picking up their cards and putting them straight down

Image source: Reddit

When a poker player picks his cards straight up and puts them down immediately, it is generally a sign that these cards hold numbers which are one of two extremes. They are either really good, or really bad, so that they do not linger on them too long because they do not want to give themselves away.

3. Touching their stack before they act

Image source: Reddit

According to a professional poker player, another way to see if someone is lying is by seeing whether they touch their stack before they act. Apparently, a player only touches their stack when they have good cards. So, you will be able to know that they are lying by seeing if they touch their stack first before acting.

4. Check their feet

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player has revealed that if you want to really know if someone is lying, the lower down the body you look, the more reliable it is. This is because people can manage their face, however their lower bodies still usually give them away. So watch their feet for jittery movements.

5. Acting too quickly

Image source: Reddit

If a poker player acts too quickly, it generally means they have a very good poker hand and are lying to you. They act fast, because they know exactly what to do and in their excitement they forget to take a less suspicious amount of time and put their hand straight down instead.

6. A rigid like posture

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player has revealed what they call the rigid or statue like posture as one of the biggest poker give aways! This is where a player suddenly becomes so still, unnaturally so. It is because they are lying to you, and they have a very good hand and react with a rigidly still body.

7. Shaky hands

Image source: Reddit

Shaking hands are always a tell tale sign. However, a professional poker player reveals that shaky hands mean good cards rather than bad. They described how during a bad card you steady yourself, but during a good hand you relax and do not control your movements so much, and your hands shake.

8. See if they can meet your eyes

Image source: Reddit

A player will try and avoid contact, as you can discern a lot from somebody's eyes. But, if they are lying to you then they will be particularly keen to avoid yours or anybody else's gaze. Watch to see how keen they are not to meet your eyes as this is a sure sign they are lying to you.

9. Check if they are fidgeting

Image source: Reddit

Fidgeting from a poker player is often not something that is done by professional players, and is more common amongst amateurs who have not yet learned to control all of their actions whilst playing. It is a super way way to tell you if a player is lying to you about the cards they hold.

10. Acting differently at different times

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player reveals how important it is to observe your opponent. Although they will not give much away (that's the aim of the game), they will act in certain ways. Assess how this changes throughout the game to see if they act differently at different times.

11. Look for defensive body language

Image source: Reddit

Defensive body langue is a sure sign that a player is lying to you, according to experts. They say that actions such as the crossing of arms or any kind of defensive stature shows that this person is lying to you. They are then acting in protective mode. This is super common when someone has bad cards.

12. Listen for any changes in their voice

Image source: Reddit

Of course, there will not be so much talking at the poker table. Yet, they will have to communicate what they want to do for example, so at these times try and see how steady their voice is, check the pitch or check for any inconsistencies which would point tot he fact that they are lying to you.

13. Observe the opponent when they're in a natural situation

Image source: Reddit

If you can, observe your opponent when they are in a natural situation rather than playing poker to compare their behaviour. If you can't, watch your opponent when the heat is off them, when they're relaxed between turns or games. This is when you'll notice how they naturally act so that you can tell when they are lying.

14. Check that their behaviour is authentic

Image source: Reddit

Here you have to completely trust your intuition to tell you if this person is acting in an authentic way, because only that will tell you if you think this person is natural. If, you feel that they are staging their behaviour slightly it is because they are trying to throw you off the scent and are lying to you.

15. Watch for any hesitation

Image source: Reddit

Any hesitation in their movements could be a sig that they are second guessing their own actions. This probably means, according to professionals, that they have a bad hand and are lying to you. So, these moments of hesitation are hugely telling in terms of whether a player is lying to you or not.

16. Repetitive movements

Image source: Reddit

Repetitive movements can be a sign if someone lying, so a professional poker player has revealed that if you see a player making repetitive movements it is generally a sign that they are lying. This is because they are preoccupied with thinking about their next move and deceiving you.

17. When their eyes are glancing at other players

Image source: Reddit

When someone is nervous, or excited, you want to look around to check if anybody else has a hand similar to yours. So, either this person is lying to you because their cards are super bad, or they are excited because of how good they are and they are looking round eagerly in wait if their turn.

18. Scratching/ touching their face

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player reveals that when  a player is touching their face, it's a huge flag that they're lying to you. People often scratch or touch their face subconsciously when they lie. So if you see a player do this, you can know that they either have a very good or bad hand to play.

19. Look out for signs of sweat

Image source: Reddit

So you can control your facial expressions and bodily movements all you like, but you can't control how much you sweat. And under pressure, people sweat. If this person is particularly nervous about a bad hand or about having to lie, you may notice beads of sweat forming on their forehead.

20. Lack of blinking

Image source: Reddit

Not blinking is something we do when we are forcing our facial expressions to look a certain way or our body to behave differently than how we would naturally. Which, is exactly what you do when you're lying. Professional players reveal that lack of blinking is a way to tell if somebody is lying to us on the poker table!

21. Acting over confident

Image source: Reddit

The biggest bluff is when someone has a terrible hand of cards and they pretend that they have a good one to fool others into acting a different way. And so, this person may try and act overconfident to to pretend that they have a good stack when they are lying to you.

22. Watch their breathing

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player will work on their breathing so that they cannot be caught out from breathing to rapidly/ too deeply. But, this isn't always possible. When we are tense, naturally our breathing changes and so it's good to watch out for rapid movements which could tell you that they're lying.

23. Licking their lips

Image source: Reddit

Often we lick our lips when our lips feel dry. This can happen in a situation where we are uncomfortable. If you have a bad stack of cards and are lying, you may subconsciously lick your lips. This is a sign which poker players tell you to watch out for to see if someone is lying.

24. Their pupils may contract

Image source: Reddit

Our pupils respond to many different things, and they also respond to our emotional state. So, when we are feeling heightened motions in that moment, they will contract ad a result of this. Stare at the player's eyes to watch to see if their pupils contract and to check if they are lying to you.

25. Changes in behaviour

Image source: Reddit

A professional poker player reveals how players always start to act differently when they have a good hand, and because they aren't bluffing they may forget to check themselves from giving the game away. See if their behaviour changes, it could well eb a sign they are lying.

26. Their jaw is clenched

Image source: Reddit

When we are tense, the tension builds up in our face and we naturally tense or clench our jaw without realising. An easy way to spot tension and lies during a game of poker is to assess whether this person is clenching their jaw or if they are actually relaxed.

27. Only looking at their cards once

Image source: Reddit

When a poker player only looks at their cards once (according to a professional poker player) it usually means that they have very good numbers on their cards, and they do not want to look too excited by looking at their cards repeatedly. But as a result, only looking once can give them away.

28. The blood in their face

Image source: Reddit

Another thing that we cannot control is the colour of our face. Nervousness usually drains the blood from our face making us look paler, whereas excitement or stress can flush our face because the blood runs to that area. So if you see a change of tone, it could indicate a lie.

29. Listen to your gut

Image source: Reddit

Listening to our gut is super important and not just an over said saying. Our gut is more indicative of people's behaviour than anything. So get more intuitive and tune into your gut to be able to tell if they are lying. A professional poker player says that the biggest part of poker is reading other people.

30. Acting clumsy

Image source: Reddit

When a person is really starting to feel the pressure they may start acting clu9msy. This is a sign they are lying about the whole thing and while they could be super excited about their good cards, it is more likely that they are feeling the strain of keeping up pretences of confidence.