Examples of verbal misdirections when betting

Misdirections are verbal statements that attempt to distract opponents from a speaker's true motivations.

In a few days, for the People Who Read People podcast, I’m going to be talking to Brian Koppelman, co-writer of the poker movie Rounders (and host of an interesting podcast The Moment).

One of the things I’m going to talk to him about are the poker tells in Rounders: not the well known Oreo cookie tell, but the several other verbal tells in there that are examples of what I’ve called misdirections. Years ago I wrote a blog post detailing a bunch of these misdirections (back then, you’ll notice I referred to these as ‘disclaimers’ but later when writing Verbal Poker Tells I thought ‘misdirections’ was a better term).

One thing I am curious to ask Brian how much he and his co-writer were aware that those were fairly obvious and common “weak means strong” and “strong means weak” types of verbal tells. I feel like it’s either the case they were aware of them and didn’t care that much (because you gotta write an interesting scene for a mainstream audience) or if maybe they were completely unaware due to not having played that much poker.

Thinking about those things got me rereading Verbal Poker Tells and looking at the misdirections section, so I figured I’d share an excerpt from that chapter. (There are more examples in the book, including ones from players who are checking and calling.)

Examples of misdirections when betting

The following examples are of misdirections said when players are betting. This is the most common situation when misdirections are heard. They’ll most often be heard from players betting strong hands. (Less frequently, players may use a misdirection when making a small, defensive bet with a weak hand.)

$5-10 NLHE cash game, submitted by Josh Hale

This hand is between two regular players who have played a good amount with each other. The player in middle position raises to $45. The button, an aggressive player, reraises to $165.

The first player says, almost to himself, “Cosmo’s always raising me” and then goes all- in for about $700 total.

He’s implying that he’s raising because he’s tired of his opponent constantly raising him (as opposed to raising due to having a strong hand). This indirectly implies that his own hand range could be wide, which makes this a subtle weak-hand statement.

Results: The all-in player had A♠ A♥.

2004 WSOP NLHE Main Event tournament, E2 of 10, ~13:00

On a river board of A♠ 4♣ 2♥ 9♠ 7♦, Jeremy Tinsley is first to act. On the turn, both he and his opponent, Sam Farha, had checked.

Tinsley says, “I know you wouldn’t have checked if you had anything” to Farha. Then Tinsley bets.

Farha says, “You made me check.” (This is referring to a conversation they had on the turn.)

Tinsley says, emphatically and jokingly, “You coulda bet!”

Tinsley’s statements imply he’s betting because he doesn’t think Farha has anything, not because he (Tinsley) has a strong hand.

Results: Tinsley has 4♠ 4♦, for a flopped set.

$2-5 NLHE cash game, witnessed by author

In a 4-way pot, the flop is J♠ 6♣ 6♥. I bet $20 and get three callers. The turn is a 9♣. A player in early position bets $100.

I say: “Whoa! That’s a big bet. Big jump from $20 to $100.”

He immediately says, “Well, I didn’t want you to control the whole action.”

He’s implying that he’s betting because he didn’t want me to “control the action.”

Results: Everyone folds and the player shows a 6♠, for trips.

Poker After Dark, high stakes NLHE cash game, S4 E25, ~12:00

On a turn board of A♠ Q♦ J♠ 2♥, Phil Hellmuth bets $1,100 into a pot of $3,000. After betting, Hellmuth says, “It’s my last bluff at this pot, by the way.”

His opponent, Paul Featherstone, says, “You’re bluffing?!... Well, if you’re bluffing, then I guess I should raise.” Then he puts in a raise to $3,100.

Featherstone is implying that he’s raising because he takes Hellmuth at his word that he’s bluffing.

Results: Featherstone has K♦ T♣ for the nut straight. $2-5 NLHE cash game, witnessed by author

On a river board of K♠ 8♣ 5♥ K♣ 5♦, a player bets $82 into a $140 pot.

His opponent asks, “Eighty-two?”

The bettor says, “Because you bet it before.”

He’s implying that his bet sizing has something to do with his opponent betting that amount in a past hand.

Results: The bettor is called and has K♥ Q♦, for the full house.

$2-5 NLHE cash game, witnessed by author

I bet $30 on a flop of K♥K♦3♦.
My opponent says, “I’ll see where you’re at” and raises to $75.

He’s implying that he’s raising to find out where I’m at (as opposed to raising because he has a strong hand).

Results: I fold. The player shows K♠ Q♦.

“I’ll see where you’re at” is a commonly heard expression and a bit of a cliché, so it’s less likely to be meaningful than more subtle or more uncommon misdirections. At the time, I perceived this player to be inexperienced, so I thought his statement was likely to be a simple, first-level deception. If a more experienced player said such a common statement, I’d be less likely to rely on it as a simple misdirection.

2004 WSOP NLHE Main Event tournament, E9 of 10, ~7:00

A player named Hartman says, before he raises pre-flop: “Oh, god, I’m starting to play as many hands as Sam. This is getting awful.”

Hartman is referring to his opponent, Sam Farha, who’s known for being a loose player. Hartman is drawing attention to the fact that he’s been playing as loose as Farha. He’s saying that his raise doesn’t necessarily indicate a strong hand but could be a result of his loose play.

Results: Hartman has K♥ K♦.

High Stakes Poker, high stakes NLHE cash game, S3 E7, ~10:00

Sam Farha raises pre-flop.

Eli Elezra asks, “Sammy raised?” before putting in a 3-bet. His emphasis is on the word Sammy, as if wanting to confirm that it was indeed Farha who raised before deciding to reraise. Because Farha is well-known for being loose, Elezra is implying that he himself may be raising with weaker-than-average hands due to Farha being the first raiser.

Results: Elezra has A♥ A♦.

Elezra is an experienced live player, so I think it’s quite probable he’s well-balanced in his use of these kinds of statements. But this is a good example of a slight misdirection often made by recreational players.

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