One of the best things about playing online poker is that you can play anytime, anywhere in total secret. Unless players recognise your username they will not be able to pinpoint how you play and whether or not you are a good or bad player. Unfortunately the same applies to you analysing other players, you also will not be able to do a lot of profiling other than actually taking notes as you face opponents during real hands. So what is there to look out for when playing online players that can help you make better decisions more quickly?
Most human beings are ultimately predictable. If you ask someone to very quickly name the color of any car, most of the time people give the color of their own car. This is because the brain tries to get by with the minimum of effort unless forced to work harder by the individual. The standard poker player, not reading articles like this or learning about the game also falls unwittingly into predictable behavior. Whilst their actual bet size amounts are generally varied, most players will fall into similar ranges as they believe a certain hand should be played a certain way. This can give the alert player plenty of information on the villain. For example, they may always make a continuation bet then check the turn without the nuts, or always limp in with suited connectors but raise any pair. Watch every action and bet size, they are demonstrating to you how they play!
The most common online tell relates to the things that we can see on the virtual felt, the chat and the timing of the betting decisions. The amount of time players take over a betting decision is normally very short when playing online. When a player takes a larger amount of time over a certain decision this is information you can use in the future. I find that if a player takes a long time to make a decision then makes a strong bet; this is strong in most cases. Most delays to act are usually due to indecision or trying to mask that they have a good hand. Because nothing is clear cut in poker major emphasis should go on the strength of your own hand but be aware that these factors can be a tell with certain players.
I found in my low stakes multi-table tournaments that if I was dealt Aces in the early stages an all-in push was usually called by opponents with mediocre hands. This is because other players interpret this all-in raise as a sign of the maniac bad players who look to go all-in on the very first hand no matter what which you see in many tournaments.
Another way to spot a certain type of player is the chat box and how players use it. I remember watching a player discussing sit and go strategy in the chat box, and basically talking the exact opposite of what is known as proper strategy. He busted early in the tournament after a dubious play, his lecturing of the table no doubt alerted everyone to the fact he was a target. Players sometimes give away the fact that they are a good player, trying to dissect every hand without realizing they are handing away their edge. A winning player will normally be quite quiet in the chat box. Players tilting in the chat risking a chat ban often show a frustrated losing player, with serious gaps in their game. The players to be cautious of are the solid player that you notice winning pots with no fuss. They are often regulars to known the magic of playing online poker is almost totally gone. They play because they are good at it.
Any activity you see related to chat, bet sizing, timing of play be aware of this and allow it to help build a profile of your opponent along with the hands you see them play. After considering the way they played the hands this gives you great information on how to play these players when your own chips are at stake in future pots. Taking into account what we discussed above can help you classify your opponents more accurately.
