Online Poker Tells Part 4 - More Strategies

Opponents Starting Hand Fold-to-Flop Ratio
Keep an eye on whether or not a player folds a lot of garbage starting hands (a 'tight' player) or is playing at just about every pot that comes along - a 'loose' player. This information can be used to help determine the strength of a players overall game. If the players folds most of the time, beware since this player is pretty tight or solid and only plays good hands.
If the opponent plays most every hand, then you can probably take advantage of this and win if you play good cards consistently against such a player. These kinds of loose players like to gamble, and sometimes they'll get lucky and pick up some cards. It's best to just remain patient and wait for your opportunity. You're better off just playing the odds and good hands in order to take advantage of this player's aggressive, loose style when you land a good, solid hand.

Chatting
Just like in offline games, the "chattiness" of a player can be used as a tell. Generally, a player who is highly chatty that suddenly goes quiet is now busy thinking about playing some good cards, figuring out how best to play the hand. Alternatively, a player who suddenly becomes antagonistic may be bluffing and hoping this demonstration of exuberance will add to the strength of his bluff and cause you to fold. When you recognize a tell, generally do the opposite of what you think the player is trying to cause you to do.

Self-Awareness
It's important for you to remain aware of your play style and table image at all times. It's best to keep everyone off balance by mixing things up. Become suddenly aggressive and play looser (and risk the minimum amount you can, usually early in the game before blinds go up if it's a tournament), then become tight again. Keep everyone guessing.

Being aware of how you use check-boxes, the timing of your decision-making and action-taking, and controlling your play style deliberately instead of going into "auto-pilot" repetitive mode will help you avoid providing others with the advantages of the tells discussed here. If you still need more help then check out our Texas Hold'em basic strategy guide.

Until Next Time….

Let’s Gamble,

SmackDog

Free Poker Articles
Online Poker Tells Part 1
Online Poker Tells Part 2
Online Poker Tells Part 3