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Tells on the web. Do they exist?

You might scratch your nose (or something else for that matter). You may find that you always stroke your ear or brush your hair away from your face. Or maybe it’s the way you play with your chips. The truth is, when we’re playing poker, we all give out small, subconscious signals about the hand we’re playing whether we like it or not. And in the poker world, these signals are referred to as “tells”.

Being able to spot, and correctly interpret (amazingly, people often forget this bit) tells, can form a useful addition to any poker player’s armoury. If you’ve ever seen the film Rounders, then spotting a tell is what helps Matt Damon’s character to victory over his poker nemesis, John Malkovich (apologies for that spoiler if you haven’t seen the film).

The existence of tells in online poker is a hot topic. Does the anonymity of the web completely remove tells from the game? Or does the medium lend itself to new, subtler giveaways that are still there to be read by those in the know? Well, the answer is probably. And here are a few things to look out for.

You have 10 seconds to respond…

At Victor Chandler Poker, each player is given 30 seconds to make their play. And sometimes, when a player takes a long time over their next action you can draw inferences from that pause.

For example, a pause followed by a check can often indicate weakness, as they’re delaying the play to try and convince you that they’re holding something good and are thinking about their next bet. It’s more likely that they’ve got nothing, and are hoping to see another card for free.

Conversely, a delay followed by a raise often indicates a strong hand. Why? Because the player is deliberately taking their time to give the impression that they’re uncertain about what they’re doing to draw you into calling by representing a weaker hand.

Steady on tiger, round to me already?

While you can draw inferences in people using pauses in their betting, the same is also true for players who act very quickly.

A very fast check can often indicate a weak or middling hand, as many players on seeing their cards will have selected the check or check/fold advance option. If you’re in late position, and there have been a couple of very quick checks before you, it’s reasonable to assume that these players have weak hands and are thus more open to a bluff.

Quick bets on the turn or the river, when players may have already made their hands, can often indicate a strong hand. A quick bet indicates that the player may have used the advance action buttons and set it to raise regardless. It may also indicate a player in a hurry to get some money in the middle, while some players also use quick bets to give an impression of loose play in an attempt to persuade other players to call when perhaps they shouldn’t.

Keep your ears, or eyes, open.

When you’re playing poker on the web, always try to keep your mind on the game. Sure, if you fold pre-flop, it’s tempting to let your mind wander and do something until the next hand. But by ignoring the game, you could be missing out on important clues about your opponents gameplay, clues that can, over time, amount to tells.

First off, keep an eye on the chat panel, as people’s talk, and propensity to talk, may provide clues about what type of player they are. Are they the silent type who concentrates hard on their game or are they friendly and relaxed, looking to socialise with other players? The strong silent types are often playing hard, and are more likely to be tight and thus holding good hands when they make raises, whereas chatty, friendly players often tend to be that bit looser.

And there’s another good reason to keep your mind on the game, and that’s so you can watch how other people play and learn about their game. Do they try and steal blinds? Do they always call small raises? Do they always raise on the river, no matter what they seem to be holding? By getting a handle on various players games, you’ll find that they act in similar ways in certain circumstances, and these can also act as useful tells. For example, if you know that they tend to play in a tight-aggressive manner, then you know to avoid confrontations unless you’ve also got a very strong hand. And similarly, if you know that they’re keen on bluffing and respresenting certain cards, you may be able to see opportunites to take pots of them where others don’t. Sure, it can take time to build up a knowledge base about other players, but then you don’t become a poker pro overnight.

Conclusion

Hopefully this article will give you a few ideas of things to look out for at the table that can help to improve your game, and more crucially, improving your chances of success. But it’s always worth bearing in mind that some players can deliberately act in certain ways to try an throw you off the scent. So be careful, and have fun at the tables.