Spotting Online Poker Tells

May 17, 2009 by cal

If you have seen the movie, “Rounders” starring Matt Damon you may already know all about “tells” during poker games. The movie portrays a boss named Teddy KGB who reveals hand strength based on his interaction with Oreo cookies. If he opens the cookie and then proceeds to eat it he has a monster hand – if he puts it back in his cookie tray he has a weak hand. Tells are small non-verbal signals that opponents reveal during play about the strength of their hand. If you have played a live game of poker you might have even spotted tells yourself. When “Big Frank” shuffles his chips hes bluffing or the shakes “Timid Tim” gets when he is nervous with a monster hand. These types of signals give you a competitive advantage at the poker table. Have you ever considered the possibility of poker tells existing online as well? Most people would say, online tells don’t exist because you can’t actually see your opponent. However, this isn’t the case since online poker isn’t completely virtual. Here are some of the most basic tells to look out for when playing online poker.

Betting Patterns

People tend to bet similar amounts of money over the long term when holding certain cards. For example, many people at low stakes poker bet the same amount of money with premium holdings like aces and kings every time. People also tend to get cute with raises – instead of making it $3.00 they will make it $3.35 every time. These types of betting patterns may become trends and therefore reveal what premium cards they have. Here are some of the more frequent betting pattern tells you will find while playing online poker.

Un-Even Betting Amounts (neutral strength):

Online poker players tend to think betting un-even amounts like $4.95 instead of an even $5.00 will trick opponents. This strategy rarely works or fools anyone. It isn’t necessarily a tell right away unless it becomes a pattern. In tournaments and cash games players will bet fractions of a dollar so that the poker software stacks more chips on the screen. This is likely done to try and intimidate players or induce folding. It is usually done when an opponent is weak and wants to reflect strength.

Over Bets

Betting more than the pot is an interesting action in a poker game. Your opponent is either trying to make you overpay to see another card or trying to confuse you into calling. An overbet seems like weakness, but it usually means strength. Sometimes over-bets are made as blocking bets when the better has the 2nd best possible hand. If an overbet is re-raised or pushed all in on the over-better will know they are beat. Other times, the over-bet is done to purposely reflect weakness or simulate a bluff. Over-bets are tough to read, but should usually be folded to. Over-betting occurs when a player bets more than the total size of the pot. For example, betting $50 into a total pot of just $10.

Under Bets

Under-betting the pot is frequent in online poker. Players regularly bet a fraction of the pot to confuse opponents. They either have a monster hand and are hoping for a re-raise or simply believe the collective hand strength of the table is weak. Betting a tiny amount into a huge pot could also be a way to guarantee they get paid. Under-betting occurs when you people bet a tiny fraction of the total pot. For example, betting $2 into a pot of $25.

Unsolicited All-ins

People who go all in pre-flop without any action ahead of them are usually very strong. Many people use this method of play with one of three premium holdings – AA, KK or AK. This strategy can sometimes be effective if the table perceives the player going all in as a maniac. It can also work if the player has gone all in many times and shown weak holdings. Stay away from unsolicited all in plays unless you have one of the three premium hands mentioned above to call with.

Timing Action

Quick calls on the flop bet and turn bet are often signs of drawing hands – while quick folds on the river often confirm a missed draw. As in the examples above the length of time a player takes before acting in online poker usually reveals much about their hand. The length of time in relation to the final action they make reveals even more information. Study your opponents action timing while at the table. You might find some interesting patterns. Here are some popular timing tells you will find in online poker.

Taking a long time, then betting or raising (very strong):

One of the most frequent online poker tells is taking a long time before acting and then betting or raising. By trying to take longer to act your opponent is actually giving off a tell. Your opponent thinks longer action means weakness, when it actually means possible strength. Weak hands are usually folded immediately on the river, while strong hands require thought on how much to call or re-raise. Any opponent who takes a long time to act on the river and then bets or re-raises is likely holding a strong hand. Proceed with extreme caution, especially on a re-raise.

Insta-Raise (very strong):

Players who raise immediately have either mis-clicked or hit and monster hand. When people raise so fast that its almost a reaction they have either hit the automatic raise all button or gotten excited about hitting a big hand. Maniacs occasionally try to bully other players by doing this, but most of the time this action is used by someone holding a nearly unbeatable hand that is sure of the outcome.

Auto Check Button (weakness):

Although automatic action buttons in online poker speed up the game dramatically, they also reveal strength about hands. The auto check/fold button is another frequently used feature in online poker that indicates extremely weak holdings or folding hands. Although some players may try to get tricky and auto check re-raise, most are telling you straight forward that they want to fold. If you are in a pot with a limited amount of players who auto check consider making a bet to take down the pot right there.

Snap Calls (weak or drawing hand):

Calling instantly or using the auto call feature is usually a sign of weakness. Most of the time this type of action is done on drawing boards with flush or straight possibilities. Players try to call quickly to appear strong and scare off continuation bets. As we know from poker psychology strong acts hint at weakness while weak acting is usually strength. By calling instantly, we know the players is weak or on a draw. If they really had a monster hand they wouldn’t be snap calling – instead they would take more time and consider re-raising.

Chat Box

You would be surprised at the amount of information you can pick up in the poker table chat box. This is especially true at lower stakes poker games where players might not know what a tell even is. People that use the chat box and then go all in are probably very strong. While people that make a huge river bet and then dare you to call in the chat box are probably weak. At the same time players that ask you what you had after the cards are mucked probably had the 2^nd nuts or something close to it. They wouldn’t waste their time typing in the question unless they had something decent to potentially call with. The chat box often reveals the mental state of poker players as well. Spewing off vulgar language in the chat box is a sign of weakness and could indicate the player is on tilt. You can gauge the emotional state of your opponents just by what they type in the chat box.

Always remember that strong opponents try to act weak, while weak opponents try to act strong. This is one of the most basic rules of tells and nonverbal cues in poker. Acting opposite of the type of hand you have is popularly found at lower level no limit poker games. Using all of the types of online tells to read your opponent could help you in making a key decision for a big pot. Always pay attention to table action, even when you aren’t in the hand. This means no distractions like television or talking on the phone. Spotting online poker tells may just make the difference between a winning or losing session.

Spot Online Poker Tells at Full Tilt Poker

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Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro (2003)