How to 'read' you opponents in online poker

As fun as it may be to play online poker just for the sake of playing, it can be even more fun to play for the sake of winning at least the game, if not actual money. Perhaps more than any other card game, poker is a game of strategy, of psychology and of careful monitoring of the opponents' facial expressions and body language. By observing their actions and the looks on their faces you can very easily tell if they had a good hand or a bad hand, if they are bluffing or not. However, when playing online poker such methods of 'reading' your opponents are not applicable, since you cannot actually see the people you are playing against.

On the other hand, there are many resourceful people out there who have studied ways to 'read' players in online poker as well and they are sharing their findings online. So taking advantage on analyzing people's reactions in order to maximize your chances to win is possible in online poker, it just requires some research. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Evidently, the aim of playing online poker is winning, like in any other competition. A poker relies very much on action and reaction. It therefore goes without saying that being able to 'read' you opponents and to figure out their weaknesses and their strengths. 'Reading' people at poker is not an exact science, especially in the virtual world. But in desperate situations, knowing how to interpret the actions of the other players could make a great difference. However, you should not make the mistake of applying these general tips to every single player, because people are different and their reactions tend to be just as diverse. You should take the tips provided here as general guidelines in the process of 'reading' your opponents.

If you are a passionate player, you probably spend a lot of time playing poker online and you probably come across the same opponents over and over again. For this reason and for this kind of repeat players, some poker websites allow their users to keep track of individual players by creating notes related to their moves. The way, after playing against someone several times, you will already be able to tell if they have a weak hand or if they are bluffing.

A bet placed with delay is usually considered an indication of the fact that a player is trying to trick his opponents into thinking that he or she has a weak hand, when he or she actually has a pretty good one.

When a player calls instantly on a flop it indicates that he or she is in the possession of a weak hand. If a player is excessively chatty during a game, it generally means either that he or she has a really weak hand or that he or she is a really bad player. Both of these scenarios will eventually work to your advantage if you know how to exploit them. In fact, any poker 'reading' tip will work to your advantage if you know how to exploit it.