How do you read opponents effectively, especially in online settings?

[zpedrao]

I think this is almost impossible because is not in person.

 

[hardongear]

The time it takes one to make an action can be a tell in a lot of cases. It also can be used against you as well one has to know villain.

Screen name and image can give away hints and clues on how villain plays.

Also after 20+ years of playing you just get a feel for the player pool and villains. Sometimes you just know so there such a thing as feel.

Also by using a HUD if the site allows. I think a lot of players use HUD's but have no clue actually how to read them and use them correctly.

Cheers!!!

 

[martDdart]

In my opinion important things to notice is:how many hands do they play?,do they fold to a reraise?,do they never fold? Do they make continuation bets ? Do they go on tilt easy?

 

[Blumoon888]

Apart from you observing the players betting behaviour and watching the hands he plays with when they come up. On GG they have the hud which shows you vpip and ats etc

 

[Mr.$t0k]

I think you can read your opponents in online poker with poker soft, and look statistics for opponents help you to win

 

[RustyRed83]

Looking for patterns in betting behaviour, pay attention to hand ranges, I also think the more chatty they are, the more loose they play.

 

[ObbleeXY]

Of course, it depends on a lot of things, but there are many indications.
the main one is : does the betting make sense? When a villain bets or checks is important. It isn't a random event. There needs to be a consistent story with the bet sizing and cards on each street. But that story varies depending on how you've responded to the viallains narrative (and vice versa).

Timing tells can be indicative of strength / weakness in some players. Your notes will help here.

Bet sizing tells are present in many players noob and experienced. Especially some experienced players, actually. People are creatures of habit. and the more they do something, the more it becomes second nature to them. One of those areas is bet sizing. Some players become robotic in their resopnses under certain results. Be prepared to capitalise on these using aggression. For instance. some players CBET every hand as aggressor in position...but I've got notes on certain players which indicates 1/3 pot C-BET for a missed flop, 1/2 pot for strong flop, pot-sized flop bet with top pair on a wet board.

Thus, for *some* players, it becomes just playing against the chart.
Example hand
Action folds to CO. Viillain opens 2.5BB from CO holding AsTs. (ATs)
Hero BTN Calls.
SB Folds.
BB Calls.

FLOP Ah9h8h.

Pot-sized bet for villain as he holds top pair and wants opponents to pay a premium to chase their straight or flush draws.

So as Hero, on the button, I almost know what villain has.
I know he has top pair and doesn't want another spade to fall.

Now, whether I continue or not -- I haven't told you what Hero is holding. That's not important. THat's your decision...and this topic is about reads, not decision making.

Othr betting patterns...
Ratio of sizing to pot. ration of sizing to last bet.
Failing to shove when one should
Seeing a shove when it doesn't make sense.

Weak vs Strong tell
trappy players tend to check more frequently, use small bet sizing and employ check-call and check-raise tactics.
This also tends to be a noob tendency.

Fish Tell
Just keep an eye on the VPIP stat. Since Fish play far too many hands, this stat will be very high. For these opponents, just play straightforwardly. Put the bluffs away.

NIT Tell
Nitty players tend to only play strong made hands and strong broadways. They will have a low VPIP. They have foldilocks syndrome where a fold is as good as a win.

Just by opening the betting (or reponding to the betting with anything other than a fold) is a type of tell for a NIT.

At any rate...that's a started for 10. I'm sure some others will spot tells I've missed.

Cheers,
JT

 

[Tadi]

I analyze the opponent from several aspects, I track how long he thinks, for me it is extremely important how the opponent played in previous situations, whether he is prone to bluff or not, what cards he plays...

 

[Gh0stL]

Hi I think the way of the opponents bet, because if you see how he acts in every street you can get enough information about him.

 

[blueskies]

The only thing you can do is study tendencies since there is no physical tells. HUD is very useful for that. Even without HUD you need to keep a mental catalogue of how a villain plays.

 

[fundiver199]

In addition to, what others have said, reads are also somewhat overvalued. Sure its great, if we have them. But even in live poker we often dont, for instance if we play against good opponents. And then we just play fundamentally sound poker. If for instance we face a bet or raise on the river, then we call, if we are near the top of our range.