Simple Online Poker Tells
By Joshua Heilpern, Tue Jan 10th

Until you become a consistent winning online player, yourmain concern should be developing a strong set of starting handstandards and learning how to play those cards properly.However, once you reach the next level of your game youshould begin to look beyond your own cards and try to findadditional methods of extracting the most profit out of youropponents. Of course, you won't have the advantage of picking upphysical tells when playing on the internet, but there are a fewsimple online tells that you can pick up on if you knowwhat to look for. You can also give off tells to confuseobservant opponents.

The first, and most obvious, online tell is the use ofpre-selected actions in the software. These usually existin the form of "check/fold", "check any", "call any","call/raise any", and "raise any". Some software has moreoptions than others but the check/fold button is prettyuniversal. Watch for players that use this - especially out ofthe big blind. You'll know when a player uses it by seeing aninstant check when it gets to their turn. This usually indicatesa 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 checkpreflop and a quick check on the flop, go ahead and bet outregardless of the board. Much more often than not you'll pick upthe small pot right there. This works especially well whenthere's a face card on the board. Of course, you can manipulatethis by occasionally clicking the "check any" from the big blindwhen you have a strong hand. Your opponents will believe thatyou clicked "check/fold" and you can set them up for acheck-raise on the flop.

On the other hand, you might occasionally see someone put in animmediate raise. This happens most often in limit hold'em, andyou should be wary when you see this at your table as it usuallyindicates a strong hand. This can be also be used as a bluff ifyou don't overdo it. Some of your opponents are also savvyenough to use this as a bluff so think about fighting back ifyou see this move from a frequent bluffer.

Another important tell in online is the time it takes foryour opponent to take an action. If your opponent always actsquickly on his turn and then suddenly hesitates when you betinto him he's giving you a huge tell. He's letting you know thathe doesn't have a simple decision. Use this information alongwith any notes you have taken on the player to help you make adecision. A long pause and then a check usually indicatesweakness whereas a long pause and then a bet/raise usuallyindicates strength. My favorite way to manipulate this is byhesitating and then just calling when I'm in position on theflop or turn. This conveys that I'm probably on a draw andusually elicits another bet when they think that I missed orstill drawing. At this point, you can throw in a raise. Ofcourse, you should realize that better opponents will also dothe same thing.

You can also find out if your opponents are playing at multipletables. If your particular room software doesn't have aFind Player feature, just look around at tables of similarlimits. If you find them at 3 or 4 other games, this can affectyour strategy. Multi-table players are usually a bit moredistracted and don't have time to make sophisticated plays. Theyusually play more of a straightforward game so you can get afairly quick read on their style. Remember to take notes and tryplaying more aggressively against them to take advantage oftheir distraction.

The chat box may also give you insights on your opponents. If aplayer is constantly chatting it up he probably isn't paying asmuch attention to his game. Another common occurrence you'll seeis a player steaming about a bad beat, swearing, and being anoverall nuisance so you can obviously peg him for being on tilt.Opponents who like to downplay the strength of their hand areusually holding a strong hand. I don't recommend trying to foolthe table using the chat since it's just downright childish andplayers can easily mute your commentary. On a side note, I findthat disabling the chat altogether helps cut the annoyancefactor in half.

Finally, and this is the least credible tell you can pick up, isthe player name/avatar chosen by an opponent. Players with theword "TILT", a picture of a fish, a wacky face, or similarlyloose-seeming characteristics are often tight and conservativeplayers. As I said, this isn't

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completely reliable but thesevisuals tend to somehow dig their way into poor players'subconscious. Occasionally, you can elicit that extra call ortwo when you have the nuts just by portraying a loose stylevisually.

In online poker, psychology doesn't factor in nearly as much asat a brick and mortar cardroom but there are certain tells youcan still pick up on and manipulate. Remember that theinstantaneous check usually means weakness so try it sometimewhen you've got pocket Aces. Watch betting time such as the slowcheck (weak) and slow raise (strong). Keep an eye out formulti-tablers, and go for the throat on chat box tilters.Finally, "FishyFred" could be a better screen name choice if youwant the occasional extra call. Remember, master your onlinepoker game first and then take your game to the next level byspotting weaknesses and tells around the virtual table.

About the Author Joshua Heilpern is an experienced online pokerplayer and writer. He also runs Online Reviews andThe Most Haunted OnlinePoker Rooms.

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