12.3E
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Maybe I Should Stand Pat?
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Caro's Law of Tells #11
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An almost instinctive act to confuse the opener.
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Some players are almost compulsive about disguising their hands.  Even if there is little logical benefit in fooling you at the moment, they may still give it a try.  When a player who normally doesn't indicate how many he'll draw until it's his turn suddenly decides to let you know he needs cards, there's a good chance he'll end up rapping pat.  The reason this tell has a fairly low dollar value is because there's very little you can do to capitalize.  If you're the opener with a pair of queens, you're going to have to draw three anyway (unless you can split openers and try for a straight or flush).  You can gain some ground by knowing that your opponent will probably never rap pat now unless he has a complete hand.  He feels that he's made you suspicious and more likely to call by requesting a card and then changing his mind.
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You're playing poker with the joker and have asked for one card.  You hold Ace of Clubs, Joker, 2 of Clubs, 2 of Diamonds, 8 of Clubs.  You should consider throwing away the 2 of Diamonds and trying for the flush.  Even this has disadvantages, because your opponent may have a pat full house and you'll end up drawing dead.  If you've asked for three cards to a pair of kings, there's very little you can do at this point.  If you make three kings and your opponent raps pat, you should not call when he subsequently bets.
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TEL12_3E.AVI
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6_6.AIF
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77%
59%
54%
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$0.17
$0.85
$0.95