Some basic online tells

Pud's Poker Progress / Matthew Pitt / 28 April 2008 / 2 Comments

As a poker player, writes Yorkshire Pudding, I look to gain any edge I can over my opponents as any advantage you have over the people you are playing against will, in the long term, yield profits for you. Most players get the upper hand by the way of "reads" or "tells" on their opponents.

By watching how they played a particular hand you can sometimes get some indication of the strength of their hand and you can act accordingly. This skill alone is key to becoming successful at poker.

If you play poker in a live environment it can be easier to pick up reads by watching your opponent for a "tell". A tell is basically something that your opponent does that gives away some information about their hand. By watching how they are sat in their chair, how they put their chips into the pot or maybe how they even say "raise" or "call" you might be able to get a clue on what their hole cards are. Online poker is different in that we can't see our opponent but we can still pick up tells and get reads on our opponents, even though it is a little trickier to do so. Below are a few hints and tips on spotting online tells.

A quick or instant check - Usually this can be taken as weakness, especially if the player is playing 2 or more tables. Basically they have not had to think about their hand so quickly click check or they have used the pre-action buttons so they can concentrate on another hand on another table.

The delayed check - Like the quick check this can indicate weakness too. Your opponent is trying to act strong by making you think he's giving his hand careful consideration. He's usually not.

The quick check then re-raise - You should be very weary of someone who quickly checks then fires a check-raise after a bet. His quick check is telling you he is weak but a check-raise displays great strength. Proceed with caution.

The quick bet and raise - Often a sign of strength, especially if the bet or raise is on the turn or the river. By acting strongly they are hoping you don't believe them.

The delayed bet - Your opponent is usually very strong if they pause for a length of time before firing out a bet. Their delay is there to indicate to you that they are weak and unsure of how to act but it is usually quite the opposite.

The tiny flop bet - We've all seen someone bet out $1 into a $30 pot and thought "WTF?" Your opponent is either extremely strong over very weak or drawing to a hand. By betting tiny they are either hoping you put in a big raise so they can push all-in or they are hoping you'll just flat call this pathetic bet and they get to see the next card very cheaply. Just treat bets like these as a check and act how you normally would.

There's six online tells that although are not set in stone they could help you save or extract some extra cash from your opponents. Of course a good thinking player can do the total opposite of these actions, called "reverse tells" so you need to be aware of them. The best way to not give off any free information yourself is to take the same amount of time every time you make a play. I usually count to two or three before making my play to keep everything consistent and uniform. I always bet the same amount preflop whether I have AA or 98s. I always make the same size (in proportion to the pot) continuation bet and I make the same size bet to defend my blinds that way my opponent doesn't have any idea about my hand strength if he's been watching my play.

Thanks for reading and best of luck at the tables.

Comments (2)

1. CADmunkey | 08 May 2008

   The one I see the most is definately the delayed bet. In fact most of the culprits tend to timebank and wait until 1 or 2 seconds are left then they fire off a massive overbet.
   "Better fold to your aces then" LOL!

2. Donkey Face | 22 July 2008

   Interesting post. I've never had much luck with online tells, but one tactic I've been trying is to tilt the opposition with random questions in the chat box. e.g. "If Barbie's so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?" It doesn't always work as most players ignore the chat, but it certainly makes the game more fun to play!