Online Poker Tells
Mar 27, 2008By: G.L. Hodges As players trying to improve our game, we can never know TOO much about our opponents at the poker table. Every bit of information we gather can help us have an edge when playing with them. The more we know about how our opponents play, the better chance we have of beating them.
Many books have been written on how to pick up tells on your opponents, but how do you do that online? Since we lose our ability to visually access other players, we have to use other methods to gain this knowledge edge.
One way to do that is to take notes.
Online poker sites offer a “notes” option somewhere in their program. On PokerStars, you right click on a player’s name and an option menu pops up, one of these options is ‘note’. When you click on note, you then can make notes on the player. Taking notes is an invaluable tool for serious poker players.
Pay attention and you can still pick up on tells on players, even online.
Some of the things you may notice about your opponents are:
• Do they go on tilt if he/she loses a few hands?
• Do they bet fast or slow when they have a hand?
• Do they bluff a lot, or in certain positions?
• Do they have poor hand selection?
• Do they always raise on the button if everyone checks?
• Do they bet on the come and bluff if they miss?
• Are they a check raiser?
When you watch the game as you play, you will notice these things about your opponents and when you do, make a note. On PokerStars, once you have made a note on a player, a small “n” will appear on their avatar. This way you will know that you have notes on them. By reading your earlier notes when you play against them the next time, it will help you remember any traits that player has.
With the thousands of players online from around the world, it may be long time before we play against the same player again. Even if you haven’t faced a particular player for months, your notes will be there, to remind you of the playing style your opponent has exhibited in the past.
The next time you play, be observant of your opponents, you will be surprised at all the information you can gain for your notes, just by paying attention.
