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Is Reading People Still An Important Tactic in Online Poker?

We’ve all seen the scenes in movies at a high-stakes poker game, where everyone is trying to read what the other players have in their hands and what sort of position they are in. Psychology has always been intertwined with poker and people try to work out what the other players are attempting with their tactics or even work out their “tell” to try and guess what cards they have. It isn’t an exact science, and bluffing is a big part of this game which is one of the things that makes poker so fascinating.

When poker made the transition from exclusively being played in poker rooms, clubs, and casinos, to being played on the internet, a big difference was quickly evident. Players could no longer see the others around the table. What was their approach? Were they struggling to keep a straight face or keep their “poker face” throughout the game? There’s no way to know from behind the screen.

Reading players isn’t a concept that has totally gone, though, and body language and communication are only part of the equation. Poker behaviors can potentially be established in other ways, and in this guide, we’re exploring the ways in which reading people can still be achieved even if you may not be able to look them in the eyes.

Why You Need to Read People in Poker

Poker is a unique game in the fact that it relies on bluffing and has a huge element of human behavior involved. A player with a dud hand could still potentially win the biggest prize if they are good at bluffing and get a bit of luck.

When someone is playing online poker, they want to do all they can to try and understand the approach others are taking and try to give themselves a good chance of winning. Not getting fooled by others is such a big part of it.

Reading people enables you to take the next step and choose when to raise the stakes, call someone, or fold. For instance, if a player really rarely bluffs then you may have more reason to think they have a good hand when they are raising the stakes.

People can behave unpredictably and there are lots of things influencing the way they might choose to play the game, so reading people is one of the biggest parts of it. This is especially true when engaging in Sit and Go Poker tournaments, which are fast-paced poker sessions that demand concentration, quick action, and the right kind of thinking, in order to win sizeable prizes.

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ALSO READ: Dominating The Field: Strategies For Excelling In Poker Bounty Tournaments

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Sit and Go poker tournaments allow for big prize pools, with options, such as Double Up, Hyper Turbo, and Satellite. And as players tailor these features to their preferred level of complexity, a lot is at stake. The right kind of strategy, however, will help you let people bust out first, find the right balance between playing tight vs a wider range, and most importantly, read your opponents.

Tools For Reading People in Online Poker

Understanding behavior is not as easy online, and you have less to work with when you’re trying to work out the competitor’s motivations. Players can still take an educated guess at what is going on in someone’s head, and try to make a plan that accounts for the other players’ strategies.

Spot Aggressive “All-In” Gambling

Learning from the masters is always a good idea, and in Dan Negreanu’s Masterclass, he calls this one of the biggest tells that people have in the game of poker.

Keep an eye out for aggression and signs of someone going over the top with their approach, so if, during a hand of poker, a player tends to go all-in at a very early stage, it could be an example of them not betting with their head, and it could also be an example of trying to intimidate other players. In no-limit poker, this can be particularly intimidating as the pot might suddenly jump and players are reluctant to call the bluff due to the cost that is involved in doing so.

How you deal with the information is definitely something to consider carefully, but all-in gambling is something that can be spotted even when playing online and can help you build a picture of a player’s mindset.

Time Taken to Place the Bet

Players can definitely read something into the time taken to place a bet. If a player is instantly calling, for example, then there is a strong chance they feel their hand has a chance, but not a great chance. They don’t want to raise but they also don’t want to be out of the game completely.

Players should understand checking and calling well enough to know what they want to do, but they still need time to think it through in a lot of scenarios, which means that instant calling might tell you something about the way a player is approaching things.

As well as the time taken, consider the bet itself, as some people will raise by a strange amount, often to try and make their bet look bigger than it is. Raising by weird amounts like $1.48 might give you some insight into what a player thinks.

How Important is Reading Others?

Psychology and approach will always be important in the game of poker, so it is hard to imagine a game where reading others doesn’t matter unless you have the best hand possible. Even with the online revolution, reading players does make a big difference and people should be looking for methods to understand others.

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