True Online Tells?

[DougI]

I have read about a few online tells, but wanted to get the consensus of 2+2ers. I think picking off online tells is probably dangerous, as it doesn't have the same value as in a B&M game.
I'm familiar with the tell where the person has auto-checked his hand ahead of time.
The one I'm concerned with is when you pause to think about your hand and whether you are going to bet, check or fold. I do this sometimes, and I wonder how much of a red flag this really is.
Some delays could very well be a person getting interrupted in their house or even taking a bathroom break. It seems silly to think that a paused bet represents a medium/strong hand when you bet.
But if everyone feels that way, then I must take that into consideration. What is the consensus on what players should or should not be thinking when a player has a periodic pause in his bet? A Tell or wishful thinking?

[waffle]

The only "true" online tell is an opponent's betting patterns and your past experience with that opponent.

[JasonK]

With the amount of people who multi-table I would hardly consider a paused bet as a tell.

[Phil Van Sexton]

Paused bet isn't a reliable tell, but a quick bet could be.

For example, I have JJ in a NL game in the cut-off. I raise to 4xBB and button calls very quickly. I then put him on a middle pair. Big pairs he'd have to consider raising. Connectors/small pairs, he'd have to consider folding.

Board comes down with 4 spades, I have the Js. He makes a decent size bet on river. I call. He flips TT.

You also see quick calls on the flop in limit when people are on a flush draw.

The moral....pausing won't give your hand away. However, if you have an easy decision, you may want to wait 1-2 seconds anyway to avoid letting everyone know you have an easy decision.

[matt hooley]

i've never taken it too seriously but often, say, with a floped monster in late position, i'll find myself pausing to give off the impression that it's a close decision between betting and checking, thus perhaps drawing more people into the pot if they think i don't have much. i think it's most certainly better than the uber-fast bet when it gets to you, but again, nothing to waste too much time thinking about.

[William Jockusch]

On party, an instantaneous call tells you that someone has clicked the check/call checkbox. They were not going to bet if you checked to them.

[Cooker]

I think this might be a slight tell. I don't put much stock into it, but I try to make sure I act with the same timing to avoid giving a tell (except when I plan to fold, because folding is a big enough tell). Figure out about the longest you need to think on close calls within reason, and do a mental count on easy calls. Also think about your moves ahead of time, so that your mental count isn't absurdly long.

[semipro]

There are indeed numerous multi-tablers playing online, so many pauses will be just a matter of toggling between screens.

Best policy for online is to bet your hand, regardless of the pauses.

[bdk3clash]

At small stakes games, online tells are worth less than they are at B&M games. And at B&M games, they're way overrated anyway.

My tell is that when I 4-bet the river I usually have a pretty good hand.

[slickterp]

i think it can be a tell if you can link it to a person over a long period of time. i think quick acting is more of a tell. i actually vary my response times to keep people from getting any read.

[stinkypete]

one of the most reliable tells is a bad player waiting before calling.

they have a weak/marginal hand almost every time. if you have a hand, you want to value bet in these cases.

[CORed]

Agreed. A delayed response could mean the player is thinking, the player is multi-tabling and busy on another table, or that his connection is lagging. It is simply not reliable.

[Keres]

[ QUOTE ]
i've never taken it too seriously but often, say, with a floped monster in late position, i'll find myself pausing to give off the impression that it's a close decision between betting and checking, thus perhaps drawing more people into the pot if they think i don't have much. i think it's most certainly better than the uber-fast bet when it gets to you, but again, nothing to waste too much time thinking about.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so sure thats a good idea.. people who call were going to call anyway. people who are observant will throw their marginal hand down. when someone pauses a while and then bets its almost always a big hand. at 1/2, 2/4 this behavior is rampant. when someone pauses, bets and doesn't have a big hand I'm usually surprised enough to make a note of it.

The pause a while, "maybe I'm going to bet", and then check is almost always a sign of weakness too. If I have a marginal hand and see this I'm betting.

For the person who uses the auto-check/fold tell - be careful with that. when I hit a monster I'll hit, auto-check a couple of times so it looks like I'll have hit "Fold to any bet". in NL sng it works well.