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Online poker tells


Being able to read your opponent is one of the hardest skills to master when playing poker. In an offline poker room with players sat around you, it’s possible to pick up on a player’s physical behaviour to try and build up a sense of how an they act in various situations.

Obviously this isn’t possible when playing Texas Holdem Poker on line, as you’re simply staring at a computer screen rather than another player. However, there are still things that you can look out for though which will give you an indication of how strong your opponent’s hand is.

Auto Check/Call/Raise

Most online poker rooms have little check boxes (usually located at the bottom of the screen) that will allow players to instantly call, raise or fold their hand as soon as it’s their turn to act.

Making a mental note of which players appear to be using this functionality the most should enable you to get a good idea of who the strongest players around you are. Generally they will be the ones who will want to see how the players in front of them behave before deciding on their best course of action. They won’t be deciding whether to call or fold after only one or two people have acted, and therefore they won’t be using the Auto Check/Call/Raise option.

Of course, everyone goes through hands where they decide to fold just as soon as someone raises, but over the course of your playing time you will come across those opponents whose decisions are obviously using the poker room’s Auto-Call function more often than not. This suggests that their mind is somewhere else. Maybe on another game that they’re playing simultaneously … or maybe on something that’s not even poker related.

With that in mind, you should pay attention when this player suddenly changes his behaviour and takes some time over playing a hand. This may well signify strength as something has obviously brought him back to the table from whatever he was previously distracted by.

Long pause before checking

Usually a sign of weakness. Your opponent wants to make you feel that he is toying with the idea of raising the pot, when in actual fact he doesn’t have anything and is hoping to see another card. This kind of behavior could also be interpreted as uncertainty in which case your opponent may well be holding something like a straight or flush draw and is hoping to see a free card.

Long pause before betting/raising

One of the key theories of Caro’s Book of Poker Tells is that weakness generally indicates strength and vice versa. With this in mind, the player who waits before raising the pot needs to be watched. By taking so long to make his decision, your opponent is trying to weaken the perception of his hand by not betting quickly and therefore showing confidence in his hand. Be careful when playing in this scenario. It’s quite possible that your opponent has picked up a monster.