Online Poker Tells - The Time to Take Actions

Every online poker room has a set number of seconds that each player has to respond before he is declared either all-in or folded. Sometimes, due to internet issues, a player's actions will almost always be slow and laggy. However, often, the speed of play can be a good “tell.” Typically, a quick bet is a sign of weakness, and a delayed action is a sign of strength, as the player is calculating his strategy with what he percieves to be a huge hand. Watch how much time it takes the other players to make their action, and mentally make a note of it. If you get a chance to see their cards at showdown, see if you can determine what they “slow bet” with and what they “fast bet” with.

The golden rule of tells is that a strong opponent will try to act weak, while a weak opponent will try to act strong.

Long pause, followed by a raise (very strong):

The whole logic behind this play screams strength, because people usually only do it when there is a big possible hand on the table, like a flush or straight. You bet, your opponent pauses for about 10-15 seconds and then raises you. He might as well be saying: "Hmm... there's a flush possibility on the table and you've bet into it. Man, I really have to think about this because you might have a really strong hand! Oh well, I think I'm beat, but I *guess* I'll raise...". Don't fall for this. Sometimes, a player legitimately thinks you're bluffing the river or whatever so he's raising you back, but most of the time he's got a big hand.

Instant automatic raise (usually very strong):

This is used by maniacs and bluffers, most of the time it's used by a player who is so sure of his hand that he is willing to bet or raise regardless of the action. This usually means that you want to tread carefully and consider folding or check-calling this down. It should always raise a big warning sign at the very least.

Instant automatic check (weak or folding hand):

This is a pretty straight-forward tell, as almost every player uses the auto-check button only when they are willing to fold their hand. Sometimes players will be willing to call after auto-checking, but it's incredibly rare to see someone check-raise with the auto-check button. So, when you're in a small field and it's auto-checked to you, you can often take down the pot right then and there.

Opponent quickly calls your bet (moderate to semi-weak hand):
Usually when someone is chasing you or has a marginal hand, they'll make a fast call to look as if they're not scared of your bet. With reverse psychology, you can figure out that this is an intimidation ploy, because if they did have a strong hand, they'd be raising your bet instead of flat calling. In this situation, you can often continue to bet as normal. That said, some players on tilt or experienced players will often make quick calls, as they really do intend on calling to the river.

The Slow Check-Call (Very Strong Hand)

A Good situation is when you don't have to start the betting yourself. This is one of my favorite online moves that works time and time again. Instead of trying to check-raise your opponent into paying you off when you've got the nuts, try the slow check-call. From my experiences, this can be a very effective move that will make you more money than declaring your hand strength immediately. A note of caution: don't try this with a vulnerable hand or you'll be giving your opponent a great chance to draw out on you.

Waiting for the Big Blind

When you sit down at a Hold 'em table, many times you'll have the option of “waiting on the big blind“ to get to you, or you can post a matching big blind and start playing immediately. This a good tell on how patient and online player will be. If he is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to get around to him, he might not be very patient about waiting on good starting hands. Expect him to be a loose player. The opposite holds true for players who do wait on the big blind. Either they are patient or cheap. Both are pretty good qualities to have if you are playing online poker. Cheap players, even when they are not especially skilled will tend to wait on better hands since they are loathe to throw away their bets!

You will see many of these types of situations in your online poker career. Make an effort to observe them in other players, while avoiding them yourself.