Gestures, various mannerisms and acts that are displayed by poker players in order to disguise their strong hand are known as ‘tells’. The execution of various tells take place subconsciously, but they can be however interpreted by the opponents. There are many poker players who exhibit similar tells, so it is very important to learn the trick of distinguishing the implications because there can be a lot of difference in the meaning that one tell has for each player. You can experience tells in a live game, but what about online poker? It is not possible to spot tells in online poker but there are some strategies you can follow that might help.
 
It is not always necessary that physical tells are very reliable. For instance, rapid eye blinking of a player could mean a lot more than a ‘tell’. In online poker, the speed at which your opponents are acting like betting, raising or checking, a comparison of their action to the patterns they used in the past and significance of their small or big bets is the only information you have. In tells, the golden rule is:
 Strong players will act weak and weak players will act strong.
 
Some online tells are:
 

• Long pause and then a raise: This is considered to be the ‘cornerstone tell’ and the irony associated with it, is that, the players give away their own tell when they use this strategy. This logic behind this tell is strength and the players use this tell only when they can predict a big possible hand like a straight or flush. You might get confused due to the pause made by your opponent, but don’t fall for this.


• A strong automatic and instant raise: This automatic raise is pretty fast and it is possible only when a player checks the ‘raise all’ or ‘bet button’. Usually this ‘tell’ is used by bluffers, but also by players who are very sure of their hand and are ready to raise or bet no matter what the consequence. Usually this shows their interest in treading carefully and willingness to fold or check-call it down. This should raise a warning sign at least.


• Weak instant automatic check: This tell is very straight forward because the auto check button is used by almost every poker player when they are interested in folding their hand. Sometimes players call after the auto check, but its rare. If it is auto checked and you are playing in a small field then you can take the pot then and there.


•  Bet with an odd number like betting on 9dollars instead of 10: This situation can be seen in no limit games online where it is possible for players to bet with fractions of a dollar. Sometimes this is done for throwing off the opponents or to make the size of bet look bigger.


• Calling of bet quickly by the opponent: In case of someone chasing you or having a marginal hand, a fast call will be made by the person to show that they are not scared of the bet you are about to make. This is basically a ploy to intimidate you because in case of strong hand they would be raising their bet and not flat calling.