Playing (& Winning) Online Poker

by Steve Badger. Online Tells. The "in turn" buttons lead to one of the most obvious of tells unique to online poker. If the blinking light representing a player acts immediately, it's likely this person has clicked the box of an "in turn" action. It is usually easy to determine when a player has a no-brainer hand. The immediate "check" is often incredibly revealing. If you are first to act, and take a moment before checking, and your three opponents immediately check behind you like rifle fire, this is a tell as big as Texas. They ain't got nuthin'.

Another common situation... the first player takes a moment, and then finally checks. You have the "bet/raise in turn" button checked, so your bet appears, but instantly the player next to you raises. Uh-oh, he had the bet/raise button checked also, and didn't care what you or the first player did. That tells a lot more than a just normal raise would -- an awful lot more.

Besides the speed of action resulting from using the buttons, other online tells can be discerned from how slow a player commonly acts on their hand. Players who are consistently super-slow (rude human speedbumps) are very likely not paying attention to the game, either because they are playing two games and are not competent at it, or because they are doing other work at home. Either way, if all of a sudden this person plays a hand crisply and promptly and aggressively... well, they got somethin'.

"The Stall" is a common tell among average or slightly below average players. When the last card in Holdem or Omaha makes a coordinated board (making a nut hand like a flush), the mediocre player pauses as if thinking, and then finally bets. This pause almost always means "powerhouse" or at least that the bettor thinks he has a powerhouse. It's a comically inept tell in its obviousness.

The Lobby. Working the lobby is almost as important as working the game you play. In casino poker you can walk around the room, briefly look at all the games and limits being played, and study what type of game each one is. Much more accurately and quickly, the online lobby offers a wealth of information just by clicking buttons: average pot size, number of players seeing the flop, how many hands played per hour, names of the players in each game, who is on the waiting list, how many games of a particular limit are underway, and which players are playing two games.

Each one of these bits of information is something we can use to choose the right game and limit. Some people prefer a wild game. Some prefer a more passive one. Some like full games; some like short-handed. Players who are nearly equally competent in all games can choose between twenty or more games at the limit they want to play. Game and table selection is a critical part of casino poker, but it is even more fundamentally important online. At first glance it might seem that table selection is less important online because it is extremely easy to move from one game to another. I think that really is just an argument for why table selection is more important. The tools are available for players to be constantly aware of where the good games are. Constant vigilance is a price of winning online.

When signing up for games, never choose the "any game" at this limit option. This hamstrings your ability to independently manipulate your position on each sign-up list. For instance, if you've signed up for any $15/30 Holdem game, and your name comes to the top of the list in a game filled with players you don't want to play with, if you pass this game, you are removed from all the $15/30 lists. Likewise, if you rise to the top of the list on a game that doesn't look good now, but has potential because of others behind you on the waiting list, you may want to unjoin that list and then rejoin again at the bottom -- perhaps when your name, now seventh, rises to the top, the game will be good. If you've signed up for "any game," that option is not available to you. You simply will be put at the bottom of every single list you are on.

At the busy online cardrooms, you have many options to choose from, and a lot of information to use in choosing. Don't restrict yourself. Look for the games that fit with your style of play. When your game texture changes from favorable to mediocre or worse, cruise the lobby for greener pastures. Keep constantly vigilant. Knowledge is power. Playing winning online poker is the science, craft and art of mastering things most players don't even think about.