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Until you become a consistent winning online
poker player, your main concern should be developing a
strong set of starting hand standards and learning how to
play those cards properly. However, once you reach the next
level of your poker game you should begin to look beyond
your own cards and try to find additional methods of
extracting the most profit out of your opponents. Of course,
you won’t have the advantage of picking up physical tells
when playing on the internet, but there are a few simple
online poker tells that you can pick up on if you know what
to look for. You can also give off tells to confuse
observant opponents.br>
The first, and most obvious, online poker tell is the use of
pre-selected actions in the poker software. These usually
exist in the form of “check/fold”, “check any”, “call any”,
“call/raise any”, and “raise any”. Some software has more
options than others but the check/fold button is pretty
universal. Watch for players that use this – especially out
of the big blind. You’ll know when a player uses it by
seeing an instant check when it gets to their turn. This
usually indicates a very weak hand.
Since the big blind had to put it money regardless of his
hand, he’ll usually be holding trash. If you see an instant
check pre-flop and a quick check on the flop, go ahead and
bet out regardless of the board. Much more often than not
you’ll pick up the small pot right there. This works
especially well when there’s a face card on the board. Of
course, you can manipulate this by occasionally clicking the
“check any” from the big blind when you have a strong hand.
Your opponents will believe that you clicked “check/fold”
and you can set them up for a check-raise on the flop.
On the other hand, you might occasionally see someone put in
an immediate raise. This happens most often in limit hold’em,
and you should be wary when you see this at your table as it
usually indicates a strong hand. This can be also be used as
a bluff if you don’t overdo it. Some of your opponents are
also savvy enough to use this as a bluff so think about
fighting back if you see this move from a frequent bluffer.
Another important tell in online poker is the time it takes
for your opponent to take an action. If your opponent always
acts quickly on his turn and then suddenly hesitates when
you bet into him he’s giving you a huge tell. He’s letting
you know that he doesn’t have a simple decision. Use this
information along with any notes you have taken on the
player to help you make a decision. A long pause and then a
check usually indicates weakness whereas a long pause and
then a bet/raise usually indicates strength. My favorite way
to manipulate this is by hesitating and then just calling
when I’m in position on the flop or turn. This conveys that
I’m probably on a draw and usually elicits another bet when
they think that I missed or still drawing. At this point,
you can throw in a raise. Of course, you should realize that
better opponents will also do the same thing.
You can also find out if your opponents are playing at
multiple tables. If your particular poker room software
doesn’t have a Find Player feature, just look around at
tables of similar limits. If you find them at 3 or 4 other
games, this can affect your strategy. Multi-table players
are usually a bit more distracted and don’t have time to
make sophisticated plays. They usually play more of a
straightforward game so you can get a fairly quick read on
their style. Remember to take notes and try playing more
aggressively against them to take advantage of their
distraction.
The chat box may also give you insights on your opponents.
If a player is constantly chatting it up he probably isn’t
paying as much attention to his game. Another common
occurrence you’ll see is a player steaming about a bad beat,
swearing, and being an overall nuisance so you can obviously
peg him for being on tilt. Opponents who like to downplay
the strength of their hand are usually holding a strong
hand. I don’t recommend trying to fool the table using the
chat since it’s just downright childish and players can
easily mute your commentary. On a side note, I find that
disabling the chat altogether helps cut the annoyance factor
in half.
Finally, and this is the least credible tell you can pick
up, is the player name/avatar chosen by an opponent. Players
with the word “TILT”, a picture of a fish, a wacky face, or
similarly loose-seeming characteristics are often tight and
conservative players. As I said, this isn’t completely
reliable but these visuals tend to somehow dig their way
into poor players’ subconscious. Occasionally, you can
elicit that extra call or two when you have the nuts just by
portraying a loose style visually.
In online poker, psychology doesn’t factor in nearly as much
as at a brick and mortar card room but there are certain
tells you can still pick up on and manipulate. Remember that
the instantaneous check usually means weakness so try it
sometime when you’ve got pocket Aces. Watch betting time
such as the slow check (weak) and slow raise (strong). Keep
an eye out for multi-table players, and go for the throat on
chat box tilters. Finally, “FishyFred” could be a better
screen name choice if you want the occasional extra call.
Remember, master your online poker game first and then take
your game to the next level by spotting weaknesses and tells
around the virtual table.
About the Author
Joshua Heilpern is an experienced online poker player and
writer. He also runs Online
Poker Reviews and The
Most Haunted Online Poker Rooms.
