Tell (poker)

More often, people try to avoid giving out a tell, by maintaining a poker face regardless of how strong or weak their hand is.

Players who hold weak poker hands attempt to convince other players at the table that they are strong: staring down an opponent, throwing chips down forcefully into the pot in an effort to discourage others from calling.

They attempt to fly under the radar by being a passive player at the table - not making direct eye contact, softly tossing the chips in, being friendly and talkative.

Non-physical tells exist in both casino and online poker, but tells like speed of play, betting patterns, the quantity of chips that a player plays with, and player chat can be particularly revealing online.

Being human, other players act in nervous or technologically incompetent ways that may make their competitors imagine a tell where none exists, such as dropping chips seemingly expressively, out of clumsiness, or betting the wrong amount by forgetting which chip is which or accidentally clicking on the wrong thing online.