Tells are not that important
Tells are important in poker, no doubt about that, but up to what degree are they important? Is it enough for a poker player to master this skill alone?
Poker tells are much glorified in the advertising of poker today. Just look at the poker movies like Maverick, and you will know what I am talking about. In Maverick, Mel Gibson spent the first hour of a game spotting the tells of the other players at the poker table, and if that is not a sign of putting significant importance on tell, then I don't know what is. After the first hour is through, Mel Gibson wins consecutively, attributing it to his ability to catch his opponents' poker tells. However, this scene is misleading. Why? He forgets to tell the audience that apart from his knowledge of the tells, he is also a poker player with good strategies. What I am saying is what good are tells if you do not know how to fish your opponents, or how to make them fold. You may master the art of tells, but you will not advance in the poker world if you cannot trap your opponents.
Not only in the movies, but it is also in the books that tells are very important in winning poker games. Look at just how many poker books are available today about spotting tells, and interpreting them. Read these types of books if you want to, but remember that tells are all about behavioral pattern. Therefore, a tell that can be seen in two poker players, can mean two different things, what more with ten players at the poker table? What I'm trying to explain is that poker tells and their interpretation are not universal.
Books and movies emphasizing poker tells fail to mention that spotting tells is not enough to make you win poker games. After you have spotted a tell, what you do with that information is really the important thing. That is why some poker players do not concentrate on tells that much, because they can outplay their opponents without any information that the tells give. These poker players decide on their actions based on their hole cards, the community cards and the betting pattern at the poker table. The betting pattern is a much more reliable source of information than the poker tell. Remember that the betting pattern is evident, is concrete, while on the other hand, you could just imagine seeing a tell in your obsession of poker tells.