Online Poker Tells

Your mouse clicks could be giving your hand away. Just because you’re not sitting at the table next to other players, doesn’t mean you cannot read them and they cannot read you. It’s a common misconception of online poker is that it removes the aspect of reading your opponents and looking for clues to determine what they hold.

When playing online, there is a tendancy to have a rhythm to your play. Think about it, the game is set up to move as quickly as possible. There are preset buttons to fold, call or raise. The cards come flying out of the dealer’s hand and each player is expected to act fast. But when you’re playing online this fast past rhythm could be doing more than keeping the game moving smoothly. Fall into too much of a pattern and you will very easily develop a ‘virtual tell’.
A virtual tell is just like any other tell. A subconscious action that you perform in a given situation that gives other players at the table clues to what you’re holding. Do you constantly use the automatic raise feature with a strong hand or always take longer to call with a weaker hand? If so, you may be giving your hand away to a sharp player looking to exploit your weakness.

There are just as many ways to give your hand away in an online poker room as there are in a live card room. It could be something as obvious as overusing the automatic features. Or a more subtle tell such as being overly anxious to bet a strong hand. Are you consistently quick to click the bet key when you have a good hand? If so, you may be costing yourself money. Players will pick up on your betting rhythms and learn to fold when you come out quickly firing bets or raises.

The key to successfully avoiding a virtual tell is to keep a constant broken rhythm to your play. Be aware that you should sometimes wait to call, utilize all the time given to you by the game. Other times, call quickly, but be sure to mix it up in order to ensure no one gets a read on your hand by your betting pattern.

Poker is a constant game of cat and mouse and playing online is no different. In order to be successful you’ll need to keep your opponents guessing and try your best not to fall into a rhythm with your play. Be aware of the virtual tells outlined in this article as well as any other patterns you think you may fall into. Don’t just try to avoid these traps for yourself, actively look for others who may have a betting pattern. If you can spot someone else’s virtual tell you will have a valuable advantage and will increase your profits tremendously.