A tell in poker is a subtle but detectable change in a player’s behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player’s assessment of his hand. (Wikipedia)

Dear Mr. One-Eyed Guy,

That was a very interesting but unfortunate story you told at the cash 1-2 no limit hold-em  table yesterday, about how you happened to lose your right eye. Seems the eye got in the way of a bullet when your ex-wife took a hit out on you. And it appears she didn’t get her money’s worth.

The poker dealer had heard it before. “Tell ‘em what happened next, One-Eye (made-up name),” he said. I really doubt it was the entire, rest of the story, but you did go on to say that your ex was convicted and spent some time in prison. And when she got out, you remarried her.

Joe Navarro’s What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People is a fascinating take on body language and the ability to interpret it for everyday use. The author relates that knowing the reasons for certain behaviors can be useful in “reading” people. He points out which nonverbal clues send a message of deceit and which radiate sincerity. Mr. Navarro, by the way, spent 23 years as an FBI behavioral profiler and is quite credible.

Once you’re tune into this information, it is almost impossible to ignore – like a previous dark corner of your mind with a spotlight suddenly trained on it. The revealing things that people do, once unnoticed by you, suddenly become so very obvious. You’ll become a human lie detector — in all parts of your life!

If you can read people in your business and determine their honesty, it can make you financially – and the inability can break you. On a first date, openness is very rare, but by using this information you can easily figure out whether you’re a hit or a miss with that person you just met. And, if you happen to be a poker player, this book can give you the edge to build your bankroll – a huge help with vital poker tells. For example, the player who’s made a very strong hand often tilts his head as he decides how much to bet. He might touch his hands together lightly at the finger tips, jiggle his leg like mad (happy feet) or slyly ease his chips into the pot. Players on drawing hands tend to call bets very quickly, pretending to give the decision no thought at all. Players on a bluff often make strange faces, blink rapidly, toss their chips into the pot and loudly announce their raise or all-in, which is a show created to scare you right out of the hand. You of course, having read What Every BODY is Saying, see through those moves and shove all in.

Study this book to correct most of your own giveaways, and take your ability to read poker tells of others right through the roof. Reading people is a learned skill, but there are some easy-peasy tells that even a child who cannot read would recognize . . .

I was wondering, Mr. One-Eye Guy, should I consider your story and the fact that you remarried the woman who tried to have you killed, a definite “tell” that you haven’t read this book?

~ I heard it at the poker table.

There is no word for ordinary in New Mexico. This land is one of diversity, of breathtakingly colored desert landscapes that caress celebrated rock formations and foothills of towering snow packed mountains. The language spills over into the many fine casinos of New Mexico, where individuality of spirit and design reign.

Beautiful Inn of the Mountain Gods