Tells

Tells are small physical or behavioural cues that give away something about a player’s hand or plans. A pause before attacking, a glance at a card, or an eager grin at a draw can all tell an observant opponent more than the player meant to share.

The term comes from poker, and paper Magic has borrowed it wholesale. It covers anything your opponent can read from you that is not on the table.

Tells in Paper Magic

Paper play has plenty of tells because you sit across from your opponent. Hesitation over a block, how you handle your lands, and how quickly you play a spell all leak information.

Strong players work on the opposite skill too: playing at an even pace whether they hold a bomb or a blank hand.

What Arena Hides

On MTG Arena the client removes most tells, because you cannot see or hear your opponent. The remaining signals are timing based, such as how long someone takes to act.

That makes tells a paper skill with no true Arena equivalent, and a good reason to adjust when moving between the two.