Tell (poker) - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

David Mamet's 1987 movie House of Games includes as an essential part of the plot a discussion and visual reference to the tell.

The movie Rounders contains an even more subtle use of strategy: at one point, Mike discovers that his opponent changes the way he eats a cookie after betting an especially strong hand, and after using that knowledge once, Mike reveals to the opponent that he has discovered this tell. Mike's tactic works: although his revelation eliminates the usefulness of the tell itself, it upsets his opponent so much that it disrupts his subsequent play (q.v. tilt).

A popular reference to poker tells also appeared in the episode "Casino Night" of the U.S. television-series The Office: Dwight believes that Jim coughs every time he has a strong hand, but Jim really coughs only to make Dwight fold, because Jim knows that Dwight believes that coughing is Jim's tell.

In the M*A*S*H sixth-season episode "The Merchant of Korea," Hawkeye and B.J. lure Winchester, a beginner at poker, into a game with the intention of taking advantage of his inexperience. Winchester instead has an amazing lucky streak, until the other players realize that his incessant whistling (of a passage from Verdi's "La Traviata") grows louder when he is holding a weak hand and bluffing. Using this knowledge, the other players proceed to win back all of their money, and more.

In the episode "All In" of the television series House M.D., House analyzes Cuddy's poker gameplay over the phone based on a reports of her tells given to him by Wilson.

In the episode "Contenders" of the television series Numb3rs, Charlie Eppes tries to find an opponent's tell before he plays in a Texas Hold 'em game.

One plot turn in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale hinges on Bond's belief that terrorist financer Le Chiffre must hide an eye twitch when he bluffs. However, Le Chiffre learns that Bond knows his tell and uses it against Bond to call an all-in bet.