When you first start learning online poker tactics, there is an abundance of information on tells and reading opponents. When you are playing live poker, the info is exceptionally useful since people will more than likely give out a lot of tells at the table. Every little thing from nervous twitches to physical dispositions can reveal the strength of an opponent’s hand.
Playing online poker is going to be more of a challenge when it comes to reading players. The computer screen doesn’t show a person’s body to reveal the most important tells, although some people will still try to get you to believe they are still able to read other online players.
People say to watch the eagerness of the players’ calls. Responding slow exposes a strong hand because players want to trick you into thinking they had a difficult decision while responding quickly shows a weaker hand because they want you to think their hand is awesome and the call was easy. An additional important fact is to look at the avatars, screen names, etc. because a shark means they are….well, they are a shark.
But in reality, trying to analyze tells in online poker can be a waste of time. It is an even bigger waste of time if you play at the lower limits! It would help a lot of people if they would focus more on straightforward approaches instead of wasting time strategizing about the various psychological aspects of online poker. It seems like a lost opportunity spending the whole game chasing that little tell from just one player. Chasing tells isn’t as important as knowing your implied odds on a certain hand.
With that being said, benefits can still come from reading opponents and keeping an eye on their betting habits. Doing so really pays off as you move up in stakes. Just make sure you have all of the basic and intermediate strategy down before you start worrying so much about reading other players.
