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A magician can create an illusion to make an object disappear. Just because that object is no longer visible to the audience doesn’t mean it isn’t there. We, as poker players, are a bit like the magician. Essentially, we train ourselves to see things that don’t always appear visible at first. And although you can’t see your opponent face to face when you’re behind a monitor, that doesn’t mean the information is not there.
In live poker, many opponents base a substantial number of their decisions on tells. As you know, a tell is a physical behavior from which other players can draw valuable information; information that enables them to place their opponent on a specific hand. These tells are usually subconscious and can be seen in betting patterns, posture, facial expressions, and sudden eye motion towards chips or community cards.
Moving away from the live tables and into the world of virtual felt, there are many types of online “clicking” tells that I see regularly in the middle to high limit Hold’em cash games. Identifying these online tells becomes easier in the shorthanded games because the play tends to be more action-orientated than at a full table.
Patterns in a player’s betting can be studied through instant hand histories, provided the online card room offers that option. When possible, use the instant hand history as a vital tool to discover useful information on your opponents.
The speed of our opponents’ responses needs to be considered when we are not physically face to face with other players and concentration is key.
The Quick Call – Some opponents will call your bets quickly if they are drawing, and so the speed of a call is a key element in knowing when you should start slowing down if a potential draw is completed on the turn or the river.
Remember, it’s also important to not always trust your initial read. Re-evaluate every so often to make sure the tell you initially interpreted holds true. Some opponents may not be concentrating on the game due to multi-tasking or some other unknown factor, so obtaining information by analyzing this type of opponents’ betting patterns can be very difficult.
The Instant Raise – This is the most common tell that I’ve seen while playing in online card rooms that offer an option to click a “raise” box in advance, allowing the player to premeditate the action before it’s his turn to act. If your opponent has a quicker reaction time than usual when raising, at any street, that slight change in speed could be valuable information.
You can spot this when your opponent shows down a strong hand following a sequence of bets that didn’t quite mirror his previous betting patterns throughout the session. Be warned, though: There are also cases when the player has simply snapped and is on savage tilt, but that’s a completely different topic for discussion.
Detecting the instant raise is even more effective when you suspect the opponent you are playing against is multi-tabling and using this option – his play will become monotonous and almost robotic. Of course, to know whether the player is using the instant raise option, you must be very aware and pay close attention. At the start of your session, or when a new player takes a seat, take a few minutes to figure out how your opponents are playing and whether or not they are premeditating their next move before it’s their time to act.
The Hesitation on Fifth Street – When a player knows he has his opponent beat, he will sometimes pause for a second and then fire out a bet on the river. This pause or hesitation is primarily seen in beginning to intermediate players. If you know the opponent you are playing against has a hesitation tell on the river, it will certainly help you decide what action to take. Be aware that some opponents use this hesitation as deception. The more experienced online player will time it correctly to disguise the strength of his hand, whether he missed his draw or has a monster. Again, pay close attention to how your opponent leads out on the river, and should you call the bet, make note of how much of a hesitation there is, if any at all.
Whether these specific tells help save you bets or earn you bets, there’s no doubt that concentrating on these kinds of patterns can reveal specific tells during online play; tells that can be associated with live action as well. And remember, while we may not all have the ability to create illusions like a magician, it’s important to make sure our audience cannot see behind the scenes when we are performing. Be consistent in your betting, whether you prefer to play fast or slow. Also, never be afraid to reverse these tells. Remember, poker is a game that involves psychological warfare, and deception is key.
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