Let's talk a bit about tells - live poker tells.

A lot has been written about tells;  much of it quite silly, much of it quite wonderful.

I'm going to pass on the silly; no sense in giving anyone a reason to flame me.

Let's just give a nod to "the good stuff," of which there are two main progenitors: Mike Caro and Joe Navarro.

Book of Tells: Limited Utility

Mike Caro's Book of Tells outlined how particular classic tells are marked cards displayed.

The book was written relatively early in the poker explosion and shows its wrinkles, although much of the material is still relevant and useful to beginners.

Navarro's unique approach in Read 'em and Reap: A Career FBI Agent's Guide to Decoding Poker Tells (whew!) is newer, based on experience in the "real world."

In the course of his FBI assignments Navarro wor ... Read more »