I concentrate on my opponents
I frequently change what I do and what I think about. After the Foxwoods final table, I thought I might have been giving away tells, so I decided to try something different and the next tournament I started to bend my head down and hide my face with my hands. You see me doing this at the Commerce tournament. Had I ever had a really strong hand when there was betting after the flop (I never had top pair or better even once), I would have done the same thing.
After listening to feedback from others and seeing myself on TV, I decided to change again. First, hiding my face like that made me look weak. Second, many people said that it didn’t look good on TV.
Since then I’ve been concentrating on my opponents and acting like they act. Sometimes I even mirror what they do, which I think helps me to read them by putting myself in their shoes (physically as well as mentally).
The most important thing against tough, observant opponents is to always do the same thing OR mix it up enough so that they can’t figure out if you are bluffing. Your eyes are very important, so you should either wear sunglasses, or always look at the same thing. Don’t look at your opponents in the eye unless you are trying to read them. Don’t move your hands. One thing I’ve done in the past is picked something on the ceiling or wall such as lights or ceiling tiles and counted them. Try different things and see what you find most comfortable for yourself.
