Reading Online Poker Players

Reading players online, as you might imagine, is different than reading tells at a live table here are some tips and strategies on reading online poker players and their tells.

I. Observe How Players are Betting

In online poker, since you can't see your opponents, one of the few things you can observe is their betting habits. Better players are going to fold more hands pre-flop than the weaker / less experienced players. Why? They know the difference between a good hand and a bad one. Everybody wants to see the flop.

If you don't already know what the good preflop hands are, stop playing poker and click here. Players that continuously bet every hand and call raises just to see the flop, you can safely assume are the weaker players at the table, especially if you've been watching their stack diminish. If you know you have a weak hand, dump it. Then sit back and watch what the winner wins with and how they bet to get there. It will help you later on when you are betting a good hand against them to know what they've played in prior hands. If they are frequently winning with good hole cards, be a little more cautious than if they've been "sucking out" with little to nothing in their starting hand.

A. Bet Size

If someone seems to make a larger raise or bet with better hands and smaller with worse. Or vice versa. Sometimes they will never raise preflop on a good hand and try to get you to think your middle of the road hand is good.

B. Are they a Loose or Wild player

Like to see the flop then just go all in! These are the people to try to stay away from unless your holding a aces or possibly kings. Very hard to tell what they have and that is exactly why they play that way. Always fun to catch these people!

C. Are they Tight

Do they play a hand every 2 times around the table and if they don't hit the flop, they fold? This is the easiest person to play against. You will know, if they're still in, they have a pretty good hand.

II. Betting Speed Tells

A. Quick Check

In a good environment with something at stake, this usually reveals a strong hand with intentions of trapping. A player will usually use the auto check button which bets quickly as soon a players turn comes up. If you raise watch out for a re-raise. They’re probably trying to trap you.

B. Pause and Check

If a player pauses for a while and then checks, they are probably trying to scare other players into checking it down, when in all actuality they’re probably on a draw, hoping to get a free or inexpensive card.

C. Pause and Bet

In a tournament with decent stakes we’ll assume this guy didn’t get up and go take crab a coke. A player who thinks for a long time before betting usually has a monster hand. Although, this tell is a little less reliable, so please play with caution.

III. Quick Raise or Re-Raise on the River

A player who raises quickly on the river generally has a good hand. Unless you think yours is better you should consider mucking your cards

IV. Avoid All-In Pre-Flop Players

To this day I simply don't know what players hope to accomplish on a nine man table by going all in pre-flop. But you're going to have them at virtually every table you go to. The best rule you can follow is fold no matter what you have. When you put yourself all in pre-flop, you are totally taking skill out of the picture and depending entirely on luck.

Realistically, if you have a good hand like pocket Aces or pocket Kings or Queens, you probably have a better than average chance of pulling it out of the hat. Just be aware you're taking a risk. Your pocket Aces can easily be beat by any number of combinations of hands.

Realize that these online "bingo" players, as we tend to call them, really don't know what they are doing and are just simply relying on luck. These are the easiest players to spot. Avoid them. The trend in online poker is they get you irritated enough to call them with decent hands in the hopes that you'll get luckier than they will. That isn't very good strategy. Be patient - other players are just as irritated as you. Let them be the ones to take the risks.

V. Observe Player Chat

Notice I did not say participate in player chat. Most online poker rooms have some sort of chat available. Some rooms are chattier than others. Pay attention to what's going on in them. Chat can help you read players to a degree. As a general rule, chatty players tend to be less focused on the game. They are there more to socialize, and that can often lead to bad play on their part. They'll make bad judgment calls more often than most. Take advantage of them. Refer back to the first tip and give them a lot of your focus on reading their betting patterns.

You'll also find players that appear to use chat to irritate everyone at the table. Be wary of them. They are not always bad players and oftentimes seem to get very lucky with their hands. Obviously their strategy is to irritate you enough to make bad judgment calls in your play -- essentially goading you into doing your best to get rid of them. If you give into that you are playing into their hand. Fortunately at free poker tables most of the players at your table feel the same way and eventually "gang up" on that player. Be patient. Sooner or later somebody is going to get lucky enough to take them out. Hopefully it will be you, but be sure you have a winning hand before you risk it all.

VI. Take Notes on Players

There are hundreds of thousands of people playing online poker at any given moment. You are not going to remember all of them. Some rooms have built in options for taking notes. If that isn't available where you play, have a notepad next to you. Sooner or later if you play frequently you are going to come across many of these players you face. Some rooms also offer things such as buddy lists or ways to find players that you are comfortable with and enjoy playing with. Take advantage of them. The more often you play with the same people, the better you become at reading them.

VII. Other Players are Trying to Read You

That means mix it up. Try not to play the same way every time. Bluffing seldom works at online free poker because the players just simply aren't risking anything of value. But don't let that stop you from an occasional bluff. If your timing is right it can work. The more skilled you become at playing you'll develop a better feel for when to bluff and when not to.

Don't show every hand. You're just giving away your method of play when you do. It doesn't hurt to show your hand sometimes, if for no other reason, just to prove you knew you had it. But temper your urge to show often. Make them wonder what you had.