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Online Poker Tells

Unlike in real life, unfortunately there just aren’t that many poker tells you can pick up online.  And many of the tells that you think you might have spotted aren’t tells at all, but simply pre-selected actions chosen by players that are multi-tabling.  For instance, many people say that checking immediately on the flop indicates weakness.  Personally for me it indicates nothing, as I usually play four tables at a time and sometimes pre-select check/call on one table then immediately move to the next.  If someone bets or raises, then I'll have time to come back and look at the situation more carefully.

I guess I’m writing this article not so much to give you amazing insights into the world of online poker tells, but more as to warn you not to take them too seriously.  I’ve seen articles and even e-books lay out in detail how you can gain a huge advantage reading poker tells online.  A millisecond pause before checking means this, or betting after exactly so many seconds means that.  For all you know it could simply be that your opponent's ISP is having hiccups.  Or they could be on the phone while playing, or maybe they had to jump up to answer the door, or their cat Jinkyboo may have just knocked their coffee over onto the keyboard.  Who knows?  I personally have never put much weight on the tells that I occasionally pick up.

Having said that, the standard tells that you’ll find online all have to do with the timing of bets.  That is unless you have a drunken idiot at your table simply proclaim to everyone what he’s got.  I’ve actually seen that happen a few times.  But otherwise, the only tell I’ve found to be fairly accurate is an instantaneous check on the flop.  This will often mean the player has pre-selected the check/fold button.  Again, take that advice with a grain of salt as he could have also selected check/call.  He could even be planning a check raise or he could simply be a tricky player.

Players that delay for a bit and then check often have weak hands.  They’re trying to make it appear as though they’re carefully thinking about what to do.  They think this gives them the appearance of strength.  Often it just means they have a garbage hand and are delaying the game.  Often these players just want a free card. 

Players that delay a bit and then bet often have a good hand.  He’s trying to make himself look timid and unsure as to whether to bet or not.  Many times this means he has a strong hand and wants you to call him.

A player that bets instantaneously on the turn or river often has a decent hand.  They know that for most people, strong means weak when it comes to poker tells.  They’re trying to use a bit of reverse psychology on you.  By acting too strong they want it to appear as if they’re bluffing.  Often times they actually have a good hand.  This seems to be especially true on the river. 

If you want to make sure that you never give off tells yourself when playing online, simply always act at exactly the same time on every hand.  For instance, every time it’s your turn wait exactly four seconds then act.  Or bet randomly, wait a pre-determined amount of time based on the suit of the last card shown before betting.  This will really confuse players looking for a pattern.  But to be honest, I really wouldn’t worry too much about giving off tells when playing online.  Especially at low limits as most players you will encounter won’t be paying attention to your actions anyway. 

When playing poker online, remember not to place too much value on the poker tells you think you’ve spotted.  If you’re playing mid to high stakes with strong players, be sure to apply a heavy dose of skepticism to any tells you may spot, as better players tend to be sneaky.  Unless you’re playing with the same group of people every night, the value of poker tells online is dubious at best.

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