Telling Online Poker
By Fiona Woods

Using ‘tells’ is a well-known psychological strategy used by poker players world-wide and in the physical world involves closely observing your opponent’s behaviour.

Does your opponent scratch his nose when he has a bad hand? Does he keep track of his money, or is he careless? The clues are countless when you can actually see your opponent, but what about when you’re online and can only see a nickname?

According to online poker writer Andrew Kinsman, there are online tells that are useful, but overall, you shouldn’t depend on this skill when you’re playing at a virtual table, and instead, take detailed notes on your online opponents.

The notes should include:
1. The player’s nickname.
2. The player’s location.
3. The type of game and limit at which you encountered the player.
4. An approximate rating for that player on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10.
5. An indication of their starting hand requirements and overall style – Loose? Tight? Passive? Aggressive?
6. Any other points of interest. For example: did they go on tilt after a bad beat? Are they regulars at this table? Did they reveal anything about themselves in chat?

For example, I was playing at Poker Plex - www.pokerplex.com - at one of the free tables, and was holding some good cards. My opponent (the only other player at the table) sought to raise me, thinking I was bluffing, but I kept raising him until he folded and I took the pot. For the next 10 minutes I got dealt lousy cards, and played tight, folding as soon as possible. My opponent soon got bored and left. I kept notes on the nickname, the table name, the game and limit, and rated the player. I also noted that it would be easy to bluff this player, who seemed to be looking for a challenge and excitement and didn’t have too much patience.

Of course, online tells should be used with extreme caution, because it’s a well-known feature of the Internet that anyone can take on another identity and be very convincing. Still, once you get to know the regulars over a long period of time, you can rely on your data as it develops.

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