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Mike Caro

Caro's Book of Poker Tells: The Psychology and Body Language of Poker Paperback – March 15, 2003

by Mike Caro (Author)

345 ratings

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One of the ten greatest books written on poker, this must-have book should be in every player's library. If you're serious about winning, you'll realize that most of the profit comes from being able to read your opponents. Caro reveals the secrets of interpreting tells - physical reactions that reveal information about a player's cards - such as shrugs, sighs, shaky hands, eye contact, and many more. Learn when opponents are bluffing, when they aren't and why - based solely on their mannerisms. Over 170 photos of players in action and play-by-play examples show the actual tells. These powerful ideas will give you the decisive edge. 320 pages

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Cardoza
Publication date

March 15, 2003
Dimensions

6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1580420826
ISBN-13

978-1580420822
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Caro, the legendary "Mad Genius of Poker," is the world's foremost authority on poker strategy, psychology and statistics, and the author of many best-selling poker books including Caro's Book of Poker Tells. He is also a leading contributor to Doyle Brunson's Super System 1 and Super System 2.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cardoza; Original ed. edition (March 15, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1580420826
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1580420822
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #258,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #143 in Poker (Books)

Customer Reviews:
345 ratings

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Mike Caro

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Mike Caro (born May 16, 1944 in Joplin, MO) is a professional poker player, pioneer poker theorist, and author of poker books.

Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		22%
3 star		12%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Chuck Clayton

Deserves a Place on the Shelf of any Serious Poker Player’s Library!

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2018

Verified Purchase

This classic by Mike Caro deserves a place on the shelf of any serious poker player’s library. It is the first significant book on poker tells. Much of the information is still useful today. Caro goes into detail about when opponents are bluffing, and when they aren’t based on their mannerisms. The book features over 170 photos of players in action and is jam packed with examples.

4 people found this helpful

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Metallurgist

Widely read Classic

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2007

Verified Purchase

This book is a widely read classic, and if you are the only one at the table who has not read it you will be at a disadvantage. Topics like shuffling a hand, nervousness, fearlessness, glancing at chips, protecting a hand and many more are discussed and illustrated with pictures. The book is divided into two general sections: tells from those who are unaware that they are giving out tells and tells from actors whose tells are meant to mislead. For the latter group of tells, a tell denoting a weak hand generally means that they have a strong hand, and tells denoting strength actually denote weakness. The trick is to distinguish the actors from the unaware.

The biggest problem in applying this book is that it is so widely read that some actors try to do a double tell, i.e., denoting strength when they are strong, or weakness when they are actually weak, in the hope that people who have read the book will assume that the tell actually denoted the opposite. Thus, not only do you have to determine the actors from the unaware but you must also decide if the actor is trying to give a tell that denotes the opposite of the hand or one that denotes the hand in the hope that you will assume that it is the opposite. Things can thus get confusing very fast. Professionals claim that they try not to give any tells at all, which is a wise approach.

This book is useful on two levels. The beginner can learn about tells and those that they may be giving out, and the more advanced player how to utilize the tells that their opponents give out. As such, if you know nothing about tells, you will be clueless and likely to be a consistent loser. This book will at least help to level the playing field.

5 people found this helpful

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Pakled

The bible for tells

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017

Verified Purchase

The bible for tells. I own 5 poker books (Super Sytem, Harrington On Hold'em 1-3, adn now Caro's Poker Tells. For me, these books are essential for your poker library. If Daniel Negreanu ever publishes one that goes in depth with his Small Ball system, I'll add that one to the mix, but for now, I'm pretty happy and doing well.

6 people found this helpful

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KY_P

A handy tool if you use absorb it and apply it

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2007

Verified Purchase

First off, this is an older book that does not cover online games. If you only play online, pass on this book.

I've read a few poker books so far, and all of them have mentioned this book as "the" book to read on poker tells. Since pros were recommending this book I decided that I needed to pick up a copy.

This is the only poker book I've read twice.

Caro's book contains just over 20 tells, with a chapter on each tell, it's variations, and how to exploit it. It also gives a reliability scale for each tell which shows how effective it is against beginners, intermediates and experts. Surprisingly, beginners and experts are about equally vulnerable to some tells.

Caro shows that there are two types of tells, those from people who are unaware, and those from people who are faking the tell (actors). He gives guidelines on how to help determine if the tell is real or just an act.

I laughed out loud several times because Caro would come to a tell that I had. I found myself saying, "I do do that!" or, "Hey, my buddy does that!"

That being said, tells are not the Holy Grail of poker. Nobody can look at another person and instantly know they're holding a pair of Queens. Certain behaviors make it MORE THAN LIKELY that someone has a monster hand, or is bluffing, or doesn't want to be called. It doesn't guarantee it.

Even if you can put someone on good cards or bad cards, at a full table you'll rarely be in a position to exploit it because you have to worry about the other eight players and the strength of your own hand.

Also, some tells only work for draw poker, so if you only play Hold'em they're not directly applicable.

Over the long term I'd say that if you really sat down and studied/digested this book it will add about a 3% to 5% advantage to your game. More if you play against amateurs, less if you play against good players.

6 people found this helpful

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J. Carlson

Tells are the most overrated aspect of the game.

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2018

Verified Purchase

Pictures are so dated! Plus, Tells are the most overrated aspect of the game. You have to play with the same people over and over again. This doesn't happen for the average player at a casino

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Victor

Meh

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

The actual content itself will be useful to small stakes players and perhaps may even have a little merit in the mid stakes games. However, the MCU chart that Caro uses to share hand histories is super outdated and annoying to use. The photos are so small, especially when reading on a mobile device, that they render themselves completely useless.

One person found this helpful

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lordoflies

The dvd was better

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2021

Verified Purchase

While this was a good read, the dvd was better.

Helpful

Lucas Wagner

easy to understand and implement, make this the 1st poker book you read

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2013

Verified Purchase

If you are a high-level poker player, or a beginning player - this book should be the first one that you read....and then you should read it again every 6 months!

Just using a handful of tips from this book will give you noticeable improvement in 1 live playing session.

Mike lays it out in such a simple, easy to understand, manner that translates into an executable plan.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Obsessive Compulsive Developer

The only person getting rich is the author

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book does nothing to influence the outcome of a poker game. Gambling is a poor mans game and poker is gambling whether you choose to think so or not. This book should be banned for misinforming the public. If you have a gambling problem, seek help not a book that in time will lead you to lose all of your money.

Pete M

A great resource. Let us buy it from amazon for you!

Reviewed in Canada on July 27, 2005

Verified Purchase

I read this book before playing in the WSOP this year, and I must say although I didn't take home the big prize it was a great asset to my game. Caro has put together a must read for any poker player who plays in live games. It is incredible how many things from the book can be seen in real play.
Nowadays I see many starting players at the casino. This book comes in great use against these types of players. However, even the pros exhibit some "tells" as well. I highly recommend the book and hope a second volume is released soon.
Go to voiceonpoker.com and we will buy this book for you.

Eds

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

Interesting

Steven Bowker

Book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

Interesting read. Must have for poker strategy library.

neville baker

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

Very interesting.

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