Player Tells In Online Poker

Look out for players who, at the outset, raise when everyone checks, because it could be one of those cases where they're trying to do the old "steamroll" maneuver, buying that pot for practically nothing. Sometimes they'll have absolutely zero in their hand, and if you've got a weak player he'll back down more often than not if someone throws in a re-raise, which now makes it a more expensive proposition for the steamroller. Clock him if he stays in and has a loser in the end, because then you may have a real fish on your hands.

Those are tendencies that are not indigenous to the online game. But the chat board is.

You might be able to notice a pattern in what players post on the screen and whether it corresponds to certain levels of strength they may find themselves in. If they're only "chatting" when they have a good hand or feigning confidence through their words when they have a bad one, these will offer some signs.

I would take a look at players and their relationship to the time clock as well. Since online poker rooms limit this time, keep an eye out for players who wait until just before time is out and make what turns out to be a poor play - particularly if they call or raise when they shouldn't. These are most likely inexperienced and/or bad players, and like all weak players they can be taken advantage of, if you're in a pot with them and can do something on your part that can make them think a little too much. All the time in the world wouldn't be enough to help them make their decision correctly, so you can count on drawing a lot of mistakes out of them.

And it goes without saying that anyone who "times out" more than once is someone you should jump on.

Those people simply aren't paying enough attention.

Make sure YOU are.