Online Poker Tells

Poker tells are used by all players especially advanced players to allow them to play their opponant rather than their hand. Poker tells allow you to know what your opponant has without looking at their hand, and therefore make crucial decisions while playing poker.


Timing of Calls and Checks
This can often be the most helpful resource available to you when you are trying to determine what another player has. The Timing this player may take to decide what to do will influence your decision as to what he has. One Feature of many poker rooms which help us to make a decision of what someone has, is "in-turn" decision boxes. These are the boxes which you can select to automatically make a decision for you when your turn comes along. If you pause before making a decision on your turn and then check, if everyone after you checks really quickly it is a big tell that they have Nothing at all.
Other players will play really slow all the time, if they are constantly taking a long time to make decisions they are probably busy doing something else. So if this player sudddenly starts playing very quickly and aggressively, its pretty safe to assume they have a monster hand.
Additionally you may find that the player infront of you to act is taking a while to act, then he checks. You have the bet/raise "in-turn" box selected, the guy next to you comes out instantly with a raise, this implies that he also had the box selected, and doesnt care what you or the other play has, he has probably got a hand.
"The Stall" is a common tell among average or slightly below average players. When the last card in Holdem makes a coordinated board (making a nut hand like a flush), the mediocre player pauses as if thinking, and then finally bets. This pause usually means "powerhouse" or at least that the bettor thinks he has a powerhouse. This however can also be used as a reverse tell.

Repetition
Because in online poker you are invetably going to be playing alot more hands than you would normally play if you were playing in real life, because you can play from the comfort of your own home. Such a volume of anything leads to repetition. By watching a player for a long enough time you should have a good idea of what they are holding and their interest level in the current pot.

I like this. There was a thread a while ago that discussed the same thing. I find that people fall into patterns online as the point-and-click interface becomes sort of hypnotising. Be carefeul though, as connection issues can give you a false read as well as those of us (myself included) who find ourselves watching tv or reading something online or talking to people when I play. Those distractions affect my speed of play and can really throw someone looking for a tell for a loop.

But when you get a good hand you concentrate on the game and not the tv or the book right?

Sure, but that doesn't mean that I am still non susceptible to distractions mid-hand. There are a multitude of things that can happen mid-hand. I agree with you almost %100, but I just think that people shoulds be careful, that's all.

I totally agree

Also you must remeber that some people, myself included, play more than one table at a time. So the time it takes to respond on one table may have nothing to do with the hand I have on that table, but moreso the hand I may be involved in at another table.

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theprofessor@texasholdemforums.com

Well the Idea with tells isnt to totally base your game around the timing and reps at which people play, you also have to concentrate on odds and what cards you have the way they bet etc, but its just a way of helping you make the right call.

zaphor, i couldnt agree more with your idea of tells. However, i think this is only good at your lower limit online tables, as you get higher up with more experienced players, they switch their online play up. I think that is how some get to be better players, as that is what i have been trying to do as of late, and ive noticed ive had a lot more success that way

Im reading a book ,and it says to learn how to switch your playing around.So you ,want be read easly,you need to learn how people at the table are betting this way you can also help figure out what they may have or if they play lose or tight.This also can help determine on how you should betor fold.