There is no guaranteed way to know for sure that someone is bluffing at poker. However there are some general things you can look for, the things that the PokerStars.com professionals work very hard at hiding. If you can, before sitting down to play, watch everyone for a while. You will see that not everyone plays the same. Some fiddle with their chips, while others try not to even blink. Some are very chatty and others don’t even make a sound. Most knowledge of a bluff comes from knowing the players previous patterns.
Like previously stated a lot of bluffing can be observed by a shift in pattern. Someone who is very talkative throughout most of the game, going silent is something to watch for. This person most likely is silent because they have a great hand and they don’t want you to hear the excitement in their voice. The opposite is true of a silent Poker Stars player. All of a sudden they are everyone’s best friends and chatting up a storm. It is usually a bluff trying to make you think they are very excited and can not contain it.
Watching people’s eyes can tell a lot too. However you do give away your own eyes when looking at someone else’s This is why some professionals insist on wearing sunglasses. If a player is watching their own chips, they probably do not have a good hand. What they are doing is counting out the chips they have left and can afford to loose. Again the opposite is true, if they are counting your chips, watch out. They are calculating how much they can win off of you, and mentally adding your chips to their own pile.
Shaking hands is a tell all too. This shaking is often misinterpreted by beginner players as fear. They up the bet, the shaking gets worse, and the beginner gets more excited. What they didn’t know is the shaking is excitement. The player in the effort to contain his enthusiasm has started shaking.
Be aware that other people are watching your patterns too, and waiting to call your bluffs as well. The odds of being bluffed goes up if you are a tight player. (A tight player being one that only plays when he is certain of winning) People will see that you fold a lot of hands, and will try to bluff you out of them. The way to counter this, is to occasionally, (very rarely to keep your rock image intact) bluff them back. They are very used to you only coming out to play when you have something, your pattern has helped establish you as someone who does not bluff. However, if you are not used to bluffing, the lie could trip you up and you will be caught.
Poker is a game of gambling. If there was any for sure, guaranteed, one hundred percent accurate methods of any part of poker, it wouldn’t be gambling anymore, and lose its fun. Trust your own instincts when playing for the best results and most fun.