Most Popular Online Poker Tells

November 25th, 2009

Everybody has a ‘tell.’ Even the best of the best poker players have tells. Only, you need a shrewd brain and sharp eyes to spot the not so obvious tell. In real poker, you need to study your fellow players as much as you gauge the strength of your own hand. You’ll absolutely need to watch slight mannerisms and subtle reactions of your opponents, which will reveal to you the strengths of your opponent hands. Whistling, running a hand through the hair, fidgety behavior, eye contact or avoidance of it, perspiration, tapping of fingers, shaking legs, table talk, or even the complete absence of any of these signs could reveal the hand your opponents are holding. There are common tells that apply to everybody, but when you reach the higher levels of poker play, you’ll not find any common tells. However, even the top players have their own tells, and you’ll just have to raise your observation skills to spot the ‘tells’ that give away the hands of the top players.
Okay, now that’s good for real play, but can you spot a ‘tell’ while playing poker online? How can you spot a ‘tell’ when your opponents are probably sitting hundreds of miles away from you? To answer the first question—yes, you can spot tells in online poker play, too. The answer to the second question—the same way you can spot a ‘tell’ in real play; by observing. The only difference is that while in real play you’ll be studying your opponents’ physical reactions, in online games of poker; you’ll be studying the reactions of your opponents on your computer screen. If you don’t believe that spotting a ‘tell’ in online poker play isn’t possible, employ the following 3 methods in your next online poker game and find out for yourself.

Online Tell No1 : Timing

Note the time taken by your opponent to raise or call you. If your opponent intentionally waits and raises you after some time, it means that your opponent is holding a good hand and is merely trying to drag you into playing. If your opponent waits and calls, it means that he or she most probably has weak hands. So, look out for the pauses!

Online Poker Tell No2 : Chatting

Just as in real play, where you can tell a lot by studying the way your opponents talk, you can find out a lot about other players by the way they chat in the online poker room. As most poker websites have chat boxes, you can study the direction of the game by watching the chat of your fellow players. A general rule is most players who hold good hands will lure you into calling. Don’t fall for it. Decipher the undertones of confidence or nervousness in the chat. Watch the chat…is the second common mantra to spotting a ‘tell.’

Online Tell No3 : Action Buttons

Almost all online poker websites have action buttons. These action buttons help players to reveal their intentions on calling or raising much before the round gets to them. There are only two times that a player will use the action button; to raise if the player is holding a good hand or to call in case of a weak hand. Generally, players do not use the action button on a bluff. So act according to the way your opponents use the action button.

There are plenty more casino games and tells that you can spot, but the above three methods should put you on the right track. Concentration and good observation skills can only make you get better in your online poker skills, and as time goes by, your wisdom will increase with experience. Until such time you reach the top spot in online poker play, or even beyond that, just keep looking for the ‘tells.’

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