Poker Tells

Some people believe there is no such thing as an online poker tell, but they are wrong! People use them every day, every time they sit down to play online. If you want to be a big winner online, you'll need to learn how to take advantage of online tells in order to increase your winnings.

The five common online tells and how to use them will be discussed below. The five tells are: fast check, wait and bet, patterns, fast bet, and telling the hand.

Fast Check : Perhaps the easiest online poker tell, you should want for a player that checks instantly when the action turns their way. The reason for the super-fast check is that they have used the tool that allows online players to automatically check. This means that well before the action turned their way, they were already ready to check. Chances are good you could steal the pot here with a reasonably-sized wager. Sometimes, however, really good players will use this tell against you, so be on the look out and remember who uses this reverse-tell!

Wait and Bet : This tell is usually indicatibe of a strong hand is means the player is thinking about how much to wager to get the most for their money and therefore it takes a few seconds longer than normal. You have to pay close attention to pick up on th is tell, but watch how long players take on average. If they wait longer and check instead of placing a bet, they are probably bluffing, trying to make you believe their cards are stronger than they really are. If that happens to be the case, you could steal the pot with a reasonable wager.

Betting Patterns : Knowing the patterns of various players is a valuable resource in any type of poker. You need to determine exactly how each player bets when holding good cards and what they do when they hold weak cards. Most players will tell you quite clearly with varying bet amounts. Let's say a player raises $40 before the flop but then only places a very small wager on the flop, this would indicate weakness. He was trying to run the opponents away. Notice how much players raise when they have aces rather than jacks in their hand.

Fast Bet : When a player bets quickly, they are frequently attempting to intimidate you. This tell is used in an effort to get other players to fold. It is taken as a sign of strength by other players because it scares them, but it is often simply a bluff.
Telling You Their Hand: When a player tells their hand, it is a really strange type of tell. It is only common sense to realize that when a player tells you about his hand without your having asked, the facts he gives are FALSE! Why would a player tell you what is in his or her hand unless he or she were giving false information in hopes you would bet more or fold. The other player just wants to rent space in your head to make you wager so they will win more.

Most strong poker player just don't care if they exhibit tells. Other players are just not aware they are displaying tells at all. The thing you want to note about online tells is that they are not 100% perfect and will not work in every situation every single time. But, you can pick up a lot of information by watching for common tells and using that to help you choose your action.

•  Frequently, professional poker players are considered to be either 'tight' or 'aggressive'. Poker sharks play few hands, but when they play, they do so with a killer-like instinct. While these terms a good descriptions of poker professionals, novices simply will not understand them.

To address things in basic terms, the most important things a poker player can do is learn, practice and develop continually four critical skills: math, discipline, psychology, and risk versus reward. Here's an outline of these critical concepts:

Staring Down Other Players
If an opponent is staring you down, he's trying to represent strength. Usually though, he has a weak hand – he might have something, but it's something that can be beaten or drawn out on.

Holding Breath
Often, inexperienced players will hold their breath if they are bluffing.

Checking Hole Cards After a Flop
If the flop shows the possibility of giving someone a flush or straight draw, watch for people re-checking their hole cards. They're checking to see if they have a piece of it – whether that black Ace was a spade or a club. The player doesn't have the flush or straight at that point, because if they did, they wouldn't have to check, but she is seeing if she has a draw to it.

Taking a Long Time Before Calling a Bet
If a player looks into the pot and seems to be doing some calculating in his head, he probably is. He's most likely figuring out the pot odds to see if it's worth it to try and catch the cards he needs to complete his drawing hand.