An Tip for Online Play

Many people say that with online play if they call quickly they have are chasing or if they bet slowly they have a good hand etc.

One of my methods to avoid this is to take exactly the same amount of time each hand to act. E.g. 15 seconds.

Obviously you don't need to use this for freerolls and things but for big real money tournaments and higher stake ring games this method can really help.

RK

I think anything more than 15 seconds is excessive in my opinion. What about delays caused by computer issues, internet traffic, dial-up user, weak connections, etc.??? You never really know what causes these delays so I tend not to look at it like you do.

Sometimes waiting for time to almost run out or more than ½ of the timer... and in FTP requesting in some situations makes u look weak and u push and ure opponent sometimes call with even weak hands.

Do you think there is a psycological benefit to delaying? Might it frustrate a calling machine into calling or raising just to speed up the action?

mls1024 said:

I think anything more than 15 seconds is excessive in my opinion. What about delays caused by computer issues, internet traffic, dial-up user, weak connections, etc.??? You never really know what causes these delays so I tend not to look at it like you do.

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I agree with him, you never really know if your opponent is needing his time because he thinks so much about a weak hand he is holding or if he just slow-plays a really strong hand.

Maybe he is just 16-tabling that's why he needs so much time...or surfing around at the cardschat forums and reading some interesting thread, could be another reason.

So a delay could be an online tell, but I wouldn't trust it 100%

A lot of my delays are just me multi-tabling. If you're up against a single table player, and he starts delaying, that's probably a bad sign. But my delays could mean a range of things.

delays could be anything. usually the person is playing more than 1 table.

I have found out delaying does not work with pros, and most delays that i see are to make a bet. yeah you can use it to read a player.
still a good tip and thats if it does not backfire on you.

The only thing I would say is to take the same amount of time when you are calling, raising or folding.

PS. The Auto Fold feature is not your best friend........

I would take the same amount of time each hand too. THe only problem is that I have dial up and sometimes my connection is slow and it may take longer than I want. I don't think that I would wait 15 secs though seems a bit to long each time.

Ok guys, an edit to my post, i thought of it as being helpful to some players. Yes 15 seconds is too long, i just rushed that message because i didn't have a lot of time. I also agree with the fact of multi tabling, problems etc. O well, i just thought it would be interesting.

No need to repeat what people have said to get posts e.g. delays by certain causes etc. I understand!!

RK

I tend to call quickly unless i'm really torn on what to do, i have never really considered the psychological effects of how long to call but it's an interesting concept to consider.

THere are blogs devoted to 'online tells',.. betting patterns, avatar names, length of time it takes to make a bet/check/call,.. even a study done on which avatars are used by players of different playing styles (prior to introduction of new avatars on Fulltilt,... did you know that 'Elvis guy is most often a LAG player?,.. 'they' say it's true!!, lol).

I think a player should most definitely read something into betting times,.. not to etch it in stone (OH.. they're taking a long time.. it must mean this or that). I don't think that's what this person was saying here,.. I believe it is just one more thing to take into consideration (not the end all and be all sole reason for reading your opponent in a particular way,.. but an addtional bit of information,.. and any little extra bit is a bonus in my opinion).
Different stuff can mean different things,... with the rookies it seems like a 'quick check' is that they're on a flush draw,.. a really slow check means they're weak as all hell and are sitting at their computer begging you not to bet so that they can get a free card,..thinking they're telling you the opposite (I've got strong.. so I'm pausing here thinking if I should bet or not,.... you better not bet,.. pleazzzz think I have something!!!).
Then there's another HUGE bet timing tell with rookies,.. the super quick auto min. bet on the flop,.. pleazzzz... gimmee a break,.. no explanation necessary on that one.
If the player seems to be taking a long time to bet out each time,.. just do a player search on them and see exactly what games they're in (if any,.. at least on that particular site). seeing the long delays and then discovering that they're multi-tabling is also another huge benefit,.. so once again, the 'long paused bets' is another great read (one's play can be altered when they know they're in against a multi-tabler).
As far as multi-tabling goes,... personally if I'm playing sngs I'll always have a couple/few on the go at the same time (used to play in excess of 3 at a time but overall I KNOW I do much better if just playing on one,.. two at the most,.. i don't play sngs with respect to looking at my projected hourly income,.. .I play them simply to win, like any poker game I play,.. I like winning even more than 'earning' (I make more at my job in a day than I could in sngs four at a time for a week straight).
In mtts I myself am usually just playing one table at a time,.. but always welcome the mult-tabler and like putting some pressure on them and forcing them to decisions when I know they've got other tables beeping away on their screens. To each one's own though.. just my particular preference.
Lots of online tell info. out there,... anything is worth discussing. Good thread and am glad you submitted it!!!!

chipeverett said:

Do you think there is a psycological benefit to delaying? Might it frustrate a calling machine into calling or raising just to speed up the action?

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Great point Chip!!!... I actually personally do just this when I've got a LAG player on my table.... take my time and let him do the betting for me on the 'next hand' (lol ... the one I'm setting him up for by pissing him off in the meantime).
I was watching a tourney play out one night on Fulltilt,... around 30players left in it (a friend was playing so I was watching all the other tables at the same time and railing him as well). this one guy was sitting nearer the back of the pack and would take almost the maximum amount of time every single time it was his turn to act. His table became irate with him. Guess who won that tourney that night??.. need I say more? (myself,..I was thinking, "What a donk.. come on man.. get on with it,..what is up with that,.. .gimmee a break!".. and wasn't even playing, lol). It paid off well for him,.. final table he managed a quick double up an stayed chipleader till the finish. (you're not that guy are ya?)

i always try to act really fast, most time there is enough time to make a decision while other players are thinking what they should do. But i don't play a lot of hands, and thoose, that i play, i play aggresive when i hit the board and fold, if not ;-)

I agree with taking the same amount of time in certain situations.I sometimes will check quickly if i hit a hand on flop to try to trap.this has worked for me making my apponent think I am weak.

i dont put alot into times taken to act. you cant see the player and maybe he/she has their attention pulled elsewhere so you do not know if that is a 100% tell.