Live poker is sometimes more popular for its poker tells and 'reading your opponent' moments then it is for the game itself. Even kids now understand what a 'Poker face' means after Lady Gaga popularised it with her massive world-wide number 1 hit in the music charts in 2009. But is there any way that we can tell if someone is weak or strong when we are playing online poker? You are probably thinking 'How the hell can you get a tell from some one who is sitting in front of their laptop in their jocks and socks in a small apartment in Copenhagen when I'm all the way over here?' Well you can and they are called timing tells.
Here is the general guide line for online poker timing tells. If your opponent acts super quick then they are weak
Follow this rule until you have proof of otherwise but in general it holds true against your average and below average players. Here is a prime example.
If a fish calls your pre-flop raise and he insta-calls your continuation bet, then he is calling with either overcard/s or a weak draw. Always double barrel again on turn unless the obvious draw hits. He will either fold or insta-call if he still wants to continue drawing. If his hand has improved he will think before making a move so you can decide there and then to give up on the hand and do not invest any more in the pot.
So the premise to this timing tell is if a player insta-calls it means he did not put any thought into the call. If the player had a decent hand he would at least take a few seconds to figure out what the best way would be to play it to get the most value from his hand. So therefore an insta-call is more than likely a speculative call.
Another timing tell is when you complete the small blind and the big blind instantly checks. These means that the opponent on the big blind had the auto check/fold option ticked so you can bet any flop with any 2 cards and he will fold the majority of the time against you.
Please be aware as the higher up you go in levels, the better your opponents will become and some of the really good players will try and trick you by using reverse timing tells. However for the most part this will not happen at 200nl and below.
Another way to pick up timing tells is to take detailed notes on your regular opponents. I have an absolutely stone cold timing tell versus one of the biggest winners in my regular game. He takes 'play your monster hands fast' to the next level.
He triple barrels his monster hands instantaneously, however he also double barrels his big draws very quickly as well. Where his timing tell comes in is on the river. If he takes his time and then bets, he is weak, but when he fires the third bullet immediately he has the nuts. So as a way of exploiting this I fold to his insta-bet on the river, but I call with my showdown type hands when he takes his time, or else I will raise his river triple barrel bet if I have no showdown value and he folds 100% of the time.
Without taking detailed notes on this opponent I would never have found this goldmine of a tell. I trust you found the above online poker tips helpful and will hopefully make you more money on the poker tables.
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