Is there such thing as a virtual tell in poker?
In short, yes. Ok, so you’d think it’s not as blatant as a twitching eyebrow or Cheshire cat grin, but the virtual tell can contribute to spoiling your online play.
It can be easy to fall into routine while playing online. It’s made to be fast-paced, particularly with the use of the preset buttons to call, raise or fold. Cards are lightening fast and you are expected to act quickly. And here breeds the virtual tell…
Be wary of the speed you click your mouse, you could well be alerting your opposition to particularly tasty cards. It’s a misconception that, because you don’t have a physical presence to your opponents, you can’t be read. However, the clues to interpret a user’s hand are still present.
A virtual tell is a subconscious action performed in a given situation that alerts your opposition to your hand, similarly to the traditional tell. Be conscious of your actions, particularly repeat behaviour. Using the automatic feature for strong hands, but stalling on weak ones is a common give away to strong players looking for prey.
Betting rhythms are amplified online due to the absence of other visual factors, so you need to be conscious of your speed to act on various hands. The key is to be broken with your play and vary your time to call. By mixing up your betting pattern, this will help to disguise the quality of your hands.
Remember; poker is cat and mouse and online play is no different. The trick is to keep your opponents guessing. Beware the rhythm, but also look for patterns from other players – YOU could be the one using the virtual tell to turn your game.
