Beware the Long Pause

Players who avoid online poker usually prefer being able to see their opponents. They assume that they can spot their opponents' tells only when they can physically see them, but that's simply not true. Maybe you can't pick up physical tells online, but there are plenty of other ways to get a read on your opponents. Over the next few months we'll look at some of those ways, and hopefully you'll then be able to identify and take advantage of them.

For instance, have you ever noticed that in certain situations, an opponent will wait 10 or 15 seconds before betting? What does that mean? Of course, it doesn't always mean the same thing for every player. But, if this is your first time playing against that opponent, you should usually give him credit for having a strong hand.

It all comes back to "weak = strong."

In his Book of Tells, Mike Caro demonstrates many different ways that players try to act weak when their hand is strong. For instance, in a B&M cardroom, if a player had the nuts and wanted you to call, he wouldn't want to display confidence. He would look unsure or confused, so that you might think he had a tough decision. That way you'd be more likely to pay him off.

Obviously, there's no way to appear confused online, but the one thing players try to do is take their time before betting. They figure that if they bet instantly, it shows they had an easy decision, presumably because their hand was strong. As a result, they might scare their opponents off. So instead, they let their clock tick down. Then, with 10 or 15 seconds left before they time out, they make their bet.

First and foremost, you should notice when that happens. It usually isn't an accident. If a player does something out of the ordinary, such as taking a long time to bet, he probably does it for a reason. Don't ignore it. Then, in the absence of any other information, you should put him on a stronger-than-average hand, and base your ensuing decisions on that assessment.

But, no matter what you decide to do, if the hand goes to showdown, make sure you notice whether or not that player's hand was strong. That's the only way you'll know if you picked up a reliable tell.

Take notes.

If you're ever going to use the online note-taking feature that most sites provide, this is a good time to do it. If you see a player take his sweet time before he bets, and then he shows the nuts, make a note of it. Simply put something like "pause before betting = strong hand" in that player's notes. Or, if his clocked ticked down and then he bet a weak hand, you know that the typical "weak = strong" pattern does not apply to him. In his notes, you can put "pause before betting did not indicate strong hand."

You don't even have to participate in the hand to notice such things. You should be observing your opponents whether you are involved or not. If you're out of a hand, but you see a player take his time, then bet, then show the nuts, make sure you finish the job by noting it. You were observant enough to see him do it; now make sure you are studious enough to put it in that player's notes, because sooner or later you'll be the one involved in a hand against him.

Disclaimer: This tell isn't foolproof.

(Then again, no tell is ever foolproof.)

I believe that the long pause before a bet is a very reliable indicator of a strong hand. However, there could always be some other reason that your opponent didn't bet right away. Any of these things could have happened:

• He was playing at another table, and needed to finish his business there before he came back to your table.
• His Internet connection was slow, so he wasn't able to act right away.
• Something at home distracted him.

In the case of #1, you can always do a player search to see if he is playing at multiple tables. If he is, then you can assign less meaning to the fact that he took a while to make his move. However, you should still take note of his hand if he's forced to show it down.

If #2 is true, then he should be acting slowly every hand, and you should be noticing that too. The delayed bet is a reliable tell only when it contrasts with your opponent's normal tempo. If his clock ticks down before every action, (which would happen in the case of a slow connection), then there's clearly no information to be picked up there.

Obviously, you have no idea if #3 is true. Wouldn't it be funny if you gave your opponent's bet undue respect simply because his wife was shouting at him to take out the trash, and he turned away from the screen? Well, I guess "funny" is the wrong word, but all of us certainly have external factors we can't control.

Nevertheless, in the absence of any other information, you'll do better to assume that the delayed bet represents a strong hand. Maybe, over time, players will come to realize that pausing before betting is a pointless practice. But, for now, it's still a pretty reliable tell.

Matt Lessinger's "Bet With Less" column appears in Card Player magazine. He can be reached at mlessinger@hotmail.com.

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