PokerSmasher

Joe Navarro knows when you’re lying. As you can guess, this may make him someone you might not want to play poker with. Fortunately, Joe is on your side. As a former analyst for the FBI, Joe spent years learning to pick up on subtle clues as to what a person’s behavior really means. In Read’em and Weep, Joe applies those skills to the poker table and shows you how you can get an edge.

Principles of Tell Spotting

The most important thing that Navarro stresses is that poker players need to be observant. Navarro teaches that players should get into the habit of being observant in their everyday lives, so that this habit will transfer easily to the poker table. He gives guidelines on how players can do this.

He also stresses that players must establish a baseline for their opponents’ behaviors. A shaking hand may be a tell or it may mean a player has a lot of nervous energy. What players should look for is deviations from normal behavior.

Using “Read ‘Em and Reap”

Players should not expect to read this book in one sitting and then be able to run to the poker table and “look through” their opponents’ cards. While Navarro does offer specific clues that generally mean strength or weakness, he stresses that observing and spotting tells is a skill, and the more it is practiced, the better at it a player becomes.

Caveats about “Read ‘Em and Reap“

Readers should remember that a certain behavior does not mean the same thing for every player and a player should not act on a tell unless they are very confident from repeated observation that it is correct (unless they have to). It will be very tempting once finishing this book to see tells everywhere, but players must remain grounded and divine their tells through careful observation rather than simply instinct.