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Poker Tells and Body Language part II

Back to Poker Tells and Body Language - part I

Online Tells

Most online tells are timing related.  The time it takes a player to make a decision can provide valuable information.  These tells need to be utilized with even more caution than live play tells.  You never know what is going on in an online setting.  The player could be experiencing connection difficulties or playing many tables.  That said, these tells can be very valuable if you pay attention to them.

Players Who Hesitate and then Check

These first two tells are strong tells in both the online and brick and mortar poker world.  I included them in the section on online tells because they are one of the strongest tells that you can pick up on when playing online.

Players who hesitate for an excessive period of time and then check, are likely to have a draw or weak hand that needs improvement.  Essentially they are hoping that the hesitation will convince you to check.  You should be more likely to bet either as a bluff or as a value bet when players exhibit this tell.  Be aware that they do have some sort of hand or draw, or they would not bother with this charade.  If you plan on bluffing you may want to bet slightly more than you would if you were just trying to pick up a pot when no one has anything at all.  This tell, like all tells, is not 100% reliable.  Sometimes the player will surprise you with a check raise and he was simply thinking about whether to bet or check raise while he hesitated.  That said, it can be a very profitable tell against players who exhibit it.

Players Who Hesitate and then Bet

This tell means something very different then the previous tell.  When a player hesitates for a long time before betting, or especially before raising, they will generally have a very strong hand.  On rare occasions they will be trying to talk themselves into running a big bluff, but as a rule these bets are very strong.

These players are trying to feign indecision and act like they are unsure what to do.  Do not be fooled.  When you bet and a player thinks for a long time before moving all in you need a stronger hand to call than you would need if he just moved in after a normal pause.

Quick Bets, Checks, and Calls

This tell is difficult because it is among the least dependable on the list.  In fact, it often means different things depending on who is making the quick bet.  That said, the same players will often exhibit this tell time and time again, although the meaning may differ depending on who is making it.  This tell can be extremely valuable in heads up play where you have ample opportunity to observe the timing in which your opponent bets.

A quick bet or raise often will have different meanings.  While a quick bet out on an innocuous looking flop is more likely than usual to be a bluff, a quick raise on the river is almost never done with a weak hand.  Observe your opponents tendencies carefully and these tells will have much more value.

There are times when a quick check can represent strength or weakness.  This tell has contradictory meaning depending on the situation. 

It also depends on how quickly a check is made.  An instantaneous check that was obviously made by clicking the check/fold button is much more likely to represent weakness than a manually clicked check that is made very quickly.  It is usually best to assume a player is weak when they check quickly but then beware if they give any more action.  If a player who made a quick check then check-raises you then it was usually an act and should represent great strength.

Quick calls can often represent a draw.  It makes perfect sense that a player on a draw would call more quickly than another player who might consider raising with a hand he would eventually call with.  You may want to fire another barrel if the likely draw did not connect and you have nothing to showdown on the river.

Auto Play Boxes

Every site offers players the option to use auto play boxes to speed up their play.  Most players only use the check/fold button but some will use the auto-call and auto-raise buttons as well.  You can tell when a player has checked one of the auto play buttons because their action will take place instantaneously after the player before them acts.  Players who do this can give away valuable information.

For instance, a player who has hit the auto-call button is more likely than usual to have a drawing hand, or weak made hand that he has decided to take a stand with.  If you are bluffing outright then you may want to bluff again if no likely draws get there.  If you have a made hand you may want to value bet more liberally, assuming the draw does not come in, then you normally would since your opponent is more likely than usual to have a weak hand.  Then again, if you have observed this opponent auto-calling with only draws then you may be better off to check your medium strength holding.  Give your opponent a chance to bluff, as a busted draw will be unable to call a bet anyways.  That analysis may seem overly complicated, but that’s poker, as they say, and it is complicated at times.

Checking the auto-raise button is less common but still can give valuable information versus some players.  These players are more likely to have a strong holding since they were not interested in what their opponents decided to do before they decided that they would raise regardless.

Conclusion

As you can see, deciphering tells is not an easy or fool proof business.  Do not mistake that for meaning  it is not a valuable business.  Poker players need every edge they can get and tells is yet another way to get a leg up on your opponents.  While any individual tell may not be of too much value, the combined value of all the tells you pick up can be significant.

In addition to working hard at finding tells on your opponents you need to work hard on not giving away tells yourself.  Pay close attention to your actions and timing at the table.  Put the chips in the pot the same way every time.  Unless you are either very skilled or your opponents are very susceptible to manipulation be careful what you say at the table and keep talking to a minimum, especially during the play of a hand.  Online you should vary the speed in which you make decisions to keep your opponents off guard.  Do not use the auto-play buttons with the exception of the auto-fold button pre-flop.  Do not make it easy for your opponents to know what you have.

Picking up and deciphering tells is difficult at first.  Then, there is a snowball effect as it gets easier and easier.  Once you see someone glance quickly, almost imperceptibly at their chips and then turn over the nuts it is like EUREAKA, and you start understanding what to look for (this is just an example of a tell you might pick up on, but any tell can flip the light switch).  At this point it becomes much easier to spot tells.  Eventually it is just part of playing poker and you process the tells in an almost subconscious way.  That comes later.  For now, concentrate hard at the table and most importantly of all, pay attention.  You may surprise yourself with the valuable information your opponents give away about their hands.