Internet Tells

The most reliable way to determine what a player has, online or offline, is picking up on betting patterns and hand selection. Also keep an eye on position and what plays they use against certain players. Keep it all in mind while figuring out ways to exploit them.

I do not, on the other hand, agree that some players can not be read by how long it takes them to act. Most players are not going to go to the bathroom or dashing to pick up the phone during the middle of a hand anyway. Especially if there is a considerable amount of money on the line.

That being said, there are certain players who make defensive checks or even a quick check to enduce a bet. Others will do a delayed reraise in an attempt to appear weak for a call. I'm not saying act on these the first time you see a player use them - but simply keep an eye on these things and a pattern in the hands that were shown down.

That all being said, I'd like to recommend that you act at consistant intervals. Which, basically means, avoid using the auto-action buttons. Phil Hellmuth's book also recommends that you empose a "10 second rule" or something along those lines - which I don't follow.

All in all, just as in live poker, there are no hard and fast rules that can be applied to all players as far as tells go. Your ability to read plays needs to stem from observation and identifying patterns.

-money

Keep notes keep notes Keep notes!! And listen to that little voice that starts screaming NNNoooooooo!!! he knows what he's talking about

the only online tell i picked up is the amount of time it takes for a person to check or make a bet which can sometimes tell you if they have a big hand or nothing at all.

In smaller tourneys it is easy to keep a track on how each player bets and plays. In larger tourneys such as multi tables then it is a bit harder.
I agree with respira. When i do not listen to that instict / feeling in my gut then i always regret it when my card comes out.
Other day two people went all in and i folded with 4 and 6 of spades. the flop gave 3 spades.

One internet tell I didn't notice anyone mention is what people say through chat. Sometimes when people say "I have to go, so I'm going all-in", it's just a bluff cause they want you to call. I was in a room once where this guy announced that he was drunk because he wanted people to think he didn't know what he was doing.

I'm going to start taking notes, i think thats good advice.

If I have the nuts and I want a call, I will usually take extra long to make my bet to make it look like I was unsure. From my experience this seems to work sometimes.

I think there are a few sure tells.
1. If a player is loose and throwing chips all over the place, and then he checks to you
(beware)
2. Same guy throws in the minimum bet, he is probably trying to steal.

I love hearing from people that there are no tells on internet poker. LOL

You are all correct though in that betting patterns are very key to putting someone on their hand. That's what poker really comes down to. If you know what your opponent holds then you will win.

There are internet tells however, and not just from the instant response buttons. Timing is everything. Typically you can get a feel on what someone is pondering. Just try to think like them and see if the amount of time they took and the action they made is in line with a certain hand you think they have. I know this is very difficult to explain, but with experience you will start to pick up tells on people. Say there is a player who likes to slowplay monsters. There will be a slight difference in the timing of his check when he holds a monster and when he holds rags. Pick up on this and you own him. As for maybe he was going to the bathroom, well, that's easy to pick up on as well. He took a long ass time to decide to call preflop. No preflop decision is that hard. Also remember that as the hand develops you need to continually update your theory on what your opponents hold.

Sorry if this is jumbled. I'm just throwing out thoughts. Don't believe there are no online tells. In fact, I use them to my advantage from time to time. I will give off false tells like I'm weak when I hold a monster. Like say I hold AA and the flop comes AKK. I sit there and literally think to myself, damn the lucky SOB got the K didn't he and then I check. They pick up on this and bet into me.