One of the fascinating aspects of playing online Texas Holdem is that you can apply psychological principles called “tells” to determine the subconscious intentions of other players.
Two of the more common tells are:
- The speed at which the player is making decisions
- Changes in conversation, including the rate of speech, the quantity of speech, and the words utilized.
People who are excited tend to move faster than those who are dis-interested or in-decisive. People engaging in mental processing of their situation (such as calculating the odds of their hand, contemplating how much money they have already lost, or who are unsure of their abilities) typically slow down. If you watch any of the televised Poker Tournaments you will notice that competent and confident players more or less take action at the same rate of speed regardless of their hand, unless they specifically are engaging in a bluff or distraction technique.
Conversation is another example of speed with some additional considerations. Of course when someone suddenly either becomes talkative or becomes silent it is an indication of some change in mental processing. Other conversation tells include the use of profanity or other words which are expressing internalized stress or anger, and/or words which describe their losses (especially if they repeatedly discuss how they don’t care about the money).
Tells are an intricate and I have only briefly touched on two areas. Like all other poker skills, tells take practice to utilize effectively as a part of your strategy. Until the next posting, good luck and good winnings!
Jim Floyd, M.Ed.
