|
by:
Joshua Heilpern
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.
 
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 preflop 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 cardroom 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-tablers, 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 -
http://www.beatthefish.com - and The
Most Haunted Online Poker Rooms -
http://www.hauntedpoker.com.
|