Online poker is a safe haven for the individual with no poker face. We all know someone like that, they crack a smile or turn beet red when they attempt any type of deception. These people were dead money anytime they tried to play poker, but now we’re able to play at home, in anonymity. This makes the game very different online than it is live. Playing online makes it difficult to put tells on your opponents, but online tells do exist, if you know how to recognize them.
Unlike live tells, online tells are usually a mindless act. One only has to think about their actions online and they can maintain a playing style that will have no tells at all. It’s the careless players who repeat habits and get lazy that give away their hands and create edges for their opponents. These edges are what winning online is all about, and a winning player is constantly searching for players that give away free information.
As your experience grows you learn more about the game, and it shows in your play. A skilled player can tell an opponent’s level of play. A novice player will try to employ the pathetic “stall” tactic. When this player gets bet into on the river, they purposely pause, trying to make it appear that they have a difficult decision. Just as time is about to run out, they suddenly raise. This move tells you they have a monster, and their level of play is so simple they think they will induce action with this rookie play.
The next obvious online tell is when players get lazy and use the casino’s software to choose their next move before it’s their turn. When they click the “check/fold” button and everyone checks around, the speed of their check is faster. This tells the next player that the opponent is not interested in the hand. It creates a small edge for the remaining players in turn because they can eliminate that player from the hand, and play more aggressively. Don’t be careless enough to use these options, and especially don’t be dopey enough to use them in heads-up play. Over the long run they will cost you bets.
Another good source of online tells is when you locate a player who is playing multiple tables. Lots of egotistical players think they are better players if they play multiple tables. I’m not totally against it, but it’s my opinion that if you have the bankroll for two middle-level games, you have the bankroll for one bigger-level game, which you could give all your attention. Most players who play multiple tables are skilled, but you’re only looking for an edge; a situation where you can exploit their play and acquire some bets. If you watch the other table your opponent is playing on, you can wait for a situation where they are involved in a hand elsewhere, and force them out of the hand they are in with you.
The best situation for tells is when a player goes on tilt. If you don’t know what tilt means, it’s when a player has a run of bad luck and their emotions get the better of them. They will have gotten busted up in a couple of hands in a row and suddenly they start betting and raising. You want to see a lot of flops with a tilting player, and if you hit your flop raise and re-raise them. They are telling you they are temporarily insane and they are giving it away.
The amount of tells you learn about will be determined by how much you play and how much effort you put into learning about them. Good players slowly add edges to their game over time, and commit to improving their game for the rest of their playing days. Learn the “tells” and take advantage. Good luck.
