Bob Silverstein has been kind enough to share a recent article from Poker Pro Magazine.

UNDERSTANDING INTERNAL TELLS

Please see blog entries for April and March for the initial parts of this article.

The Most Important Player to Watch

In Super System, Doyle Brunson explains, “Sure you want to study the emotional make-up of your opponents.  But of all the players at the poker table, the one whose capabilities and limitations are going to affect you the most is the one sitting in your chair.”

I am not  sure that Doyle was specifically referring to the type of internal tell that I am talking about but I think it’s clear that he views being aware of what is happening inside of us as we sit in our chair playing poker, as the most powerful way that we can improve the level of our play and affect the outcome of the game.

In the example above, I should have noticed that I was excited and overly focused and that this was creating a distortion or internal tell. The internal tell was an indication that I was overreacting and unable to pay clear attention to  the poker hand in front of me.  Learning to identify when I was being affected by internal tells has helped me to avoid a lot of costly and preventable mistakes.

When I was aware of myself as I sit in my chair, moreover, it is amazing how much more frequently the cards turn out to be good ones!  My “luck” simply improves and I stop complaining about the guy  ”who sucked out on the river” or “who never should have been in the hand in the first place.”