Click and tell; Victor Chandler Poker survey identifies online
poker tells.
Thanks to classic films such as Rounders and The
Cincinnati Kid that have dramatized the world of high-stakes
poker, the gaming world has always been fascinated with the
psychology of the game.
And a large part of that psychology is the ability to read
your opponents, to pick up on the subconscious tells that
every player gives. Whether it’s the way they stack
their chips or look at their cards, many a poker player has
been sent home broke after a tell has let slip the strength
of their hand.
The rise of online poker, where the only contact between
players was via a computer screen, was thought to have removed
the role of tells from the poker table. But new research from
Victor Chandler Poker (www.vcpoker.com),
Europe’s fastest growing online poker room, suggests
that a new set of tells are being discovered in the online
game.
Offline and online poker tells
Victor Chandler Poker surveyed regular online poker players
and asked them about both offline and online poker tells.
In the physical world, the most common tells were a player’s
eyes (it seems they really are the windows to the soul), facial
expressions and playing with chips. The top three online poker
tells were:
- Quickness to respond, reported by 76% of respondents
– a very fast check can indicate a weak hand, quick
bets on the turn or river can often indicate a strong hand.
- Slowness to respond, reported by 73% of respondents
– a pause followed by a check can often indicate weakness,
while a delay followed by a raise often indicates strength.
- Automatic play, reported by 68% of respondents
– a lazy approach to the auto buttons lets a player
slip into a set pattern of play. Any breaks in this pattern
are clear tells.
Online poker players are relaxed
But the survey also indicated that online poker players were
more relaxed about tells, with only 31% of players actively
looking for tells in their online opponents; yet, if playing
offline poker, 58% said they would actively look for tells.
Respondents also had some advise for online poker players:
“The good players vary their responses and leave you
guessing as to what they really have – online and offline.”
“I keep a book on everyone I play against. The beauty
of online play is that you can accumulate all of this information
and refer back to it time and again.”
“Anyone called ‘Imgonnabluff’ will probably
never bluff and only plays very strong hands!”.
Getting an edge; pick up on tells and avoid giving them
out.
According to Simon Prodger, product marketing manager at
Victor Chandler Poker, "… poker is an endlessly
fascinating game. You’re not just playing the cards
you’re dealt, you’re also playing against your
opponent – and they’re human even if you are playing
over the web. The small clues that can be picked up add to
the fun of the game and can really give an edge to players
who take the trouble to look."
Prodger goes on to give three golden rules for all online
poker players hoping to get this edge: "Number one, always
pay attention whether you’re involved in a hand or not,
as you’ll learn a lot about your opponent’s game
and temperament. Two, make notes on the players you see regularly
in the card room, and use these to guide your play against
each player. And three, always look to vary your game; by
doing so you’ll avoid becoming predictable and giving
out information about yourself."
For further information, contact:
Simon Prodger, Product Marketing Manager, Victor Chandler
Poker
simon.prodger@vc-bs.com,
Tel: 020 7292 0069
Ken McGaffin, kmcgaffin@linkingmatters.com,
Tel: 020 7684 6895
References
Click here to see the summary of the research "Online
Poker Tells".
The
Best Poker Films, article in The Big Slick.
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