Eradicate Poker Tells - Play with a Poker Face

In online poker the poker tells are just as important as ever. When no one can look you in the eyes your poker face lies in your actions.

Moves

Part of the excitement in a regular poker game is that poker tells become so obvious. A player with a good poker face has a lot to win by a table with people who can’t help themselves from making little telling movements when they’ve got promising cards on the hand. This is why it is so common to see poker players wear sun glasses. Even very experienced players know that the twitch in their eye will let everyone know just what’s going on. A good poker face can be hard to master and the sharks know how to exploit the fish that are unaware of this basic poker truth.

When you start playing in online poker rooms you might think that poker tells are no longer an issue but this is not so. Your opponents won’t see the excitement in your eyes over the right cards but they will see your moves. The moves that you make in online poker are your checks, bets, calls and the time it takes for you to make them. When you master your poker moves you could use them to eradicate your poker tells.

Betting Amounts

It is true that money speaks and depending on what variant of poker that you are playing your bets could give you away to your opponents. A very common way for beginner players to act when they have a good hand is to bet smaller than what they would when they try to bluff. Since you know that the other players expect this kind of behaviour you could use it to confuse them. Even when you are bluffing you should stay away from over betting to make sure that the opponents can’t read you like an open book. This is especially so when you are playing a lot with the same crowd that will take notes on your moves.

The idea is really to stay away from the extremes. When your opponents figure out that you always bet a bit less than the pot with a real hand, your poker face is as good as a mirror and your hand is exposed. Try to vary the way you bet and keep track of your own moves for this reason. Along with your notes on the opponents play you should make little tags on yourself to make sure that you are not becoming too obvious.

Speed of Moves

There are plenty of poker tells to keep an eye on in online poker and the more you play the more you will realize what they are. The time you take to make your moves is also a strong indicator of where you are at. When you act very quickly it gives off a weak impression to your opponents. Just like you try to mix your bets you should try to mix the speed of your actions. Even if you know what you want to do, take a pause and breathe. This will make your opponents less confident of what your situation is.