In face to face poker room games it is easier to read your opponents than is the case online. In online play there is no way to see the many physical tells but don’t worry, online poker has a whole load of tells you can spot when you know what to look for and this free poker online guide is all about ‘em. 
Speed of Play
In online poker games there is a time limit on making moves or else the players hand is auto moved all-in or folded. Due to this player speed of action is often a good Tell.
A lot of the time if a player makes a fast bet it is a sign of weakness, slow speed though often indicates strength because the player is busy figuring how best to play their good hand. Note how long opponents take to act and if you get to see their cards at showdown, see if you can determine what they were fast and slow with, that can help a lot next time round.
Do you give away speed tells? Ideally aim to take time for each play unless you can be a real master and mix speed no matter what type of hand you have.
Check Boxes and Auto Plays
A lot of poker rooms online have check boxes to allow players to set automated fold, raise any or call any instructions.
You can tell when a player has used a check box, because actions are immediate. If a player has checked “raise any” it indicates a strong hand. If it is “check” then it is likely weak. If it is “call any”, then the chance is good that it is a draw hand that is not completed but definitely not ready to fold.
While not 100% definite tells, over time you can draw some good conclusions from check box use especially with regular opponents.
Opponents Fold and Flop Percentage
This percentage can’t be exact but over several games you will be able to get a feel if some players fold a lot of hands or if they stick it in most pots.
A lot of folds equates normally to a good player but the player who stays in most pots is not good and can be hammered when you have a good hand.
Chat Box
Generally, if a player chatty player suddenly goes quiet he may well have got good cards.
Alternatively when a player is betting and gets antagonistic in chat it may well be a show of bluffing as the player hopes the show of “confidence” will bluff you off the table.
The chat classic is the “Tilt” player who is whining a lot. Tilted players can’t play good poker until they calm down so it’s a great time for you to push them into making errors.
Waiting for the Big Blind
You will often have the option to wait for the big blind to get to you when you join a table, or you can choose to post a matching big blind so you can get into play right away.
If a player is not patient enough to wait on the big blind to come around, it may indicate an overall lack of patience. Impatient players are loose players and loose players make mistakes.
On the other side players who wait are showing patience or maybe that they are tight fisted with their money, both are good qualities so note who waits and take care with them.
Novice Tells
Free online poker, micro and low stakes games will exhibit a lot of these.
The first is betting with a weak hand and feigning weakness with a strong hand. If you have pocket aces, don’t slow play them. A lot of novices will slow play such pockets and find themselves getting beaten on the flop, turn or river by players who make straights and trips.
Another beginners tell is when they wait one card after he has paired before betting. For example, the player gets a King on the flop and checks. The Turn shows a 2 yet the player starts betting hard. No way would he bet like that on a pair of 2′s so you can be pretty sure he paired the Kings on the flop. If you can beat it bet it.
Seeing Tells and acting on them takes practice, so start of by testing yourself and learning and play free online poker games at NoPayPOKER.com or the lowest stakes possible at PartyPoker before you start to risk real money.
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October 25th, 2011 at 7:07 am
Decent, informative article that’s generally reasonable/accurate. That’s more than I can say for most of the others I’ve read, so well done