The Poker Lab Rat

Some tips on playing better online poker from the infamous Doyle Brunson of Doyles Room Poker

Watch Opponents Early Action Choices. 

There is something I find useful about pre-select buttons. They can provide tells. Watch the speed with which someone acts. If a decision is pre-selected, then it usually will occur instantly when the action reaches the player.

I say “usually”, because the occasional lapses in Internet communications mean that sometimes there will be a delay, even if the action has already been chosen and the software is trying to respond immediately.  Most of the time this delay won’t happen, and you get some information because of the opponent’s use of these special buttons.

The main thing I keep in my head is that when an action happens instantly, it’s probably a result of pre-selected action. Why would an opponent pre-select? There’s only one reason I can think of. The opponent knows that he’s going to take the action, no matter what anyone else does in front of him. That puts an added emphasis to that opponent’s decision, in my mind.

For example, what if no bet is due and an opponent instantly checks? Chances are, the player has determined in advance that he is going to check. At Doyle’s Room, he may have selected either the “Check/Fold” button, which is a typical choice, or the lesser-used “Check/Call any” button. It is probable that the “Check/Fold” was chosen, and, if that’s so, then I can assume that the instant check means the player likely would have automatically folded if there had been a bet and I’ll give the players less credit for having a strong hand.

Other Tells
Similarly, if an opponent raises instantly, I’m pretty sure he intended to raise no matter what, and that usually indicates a very strong hand.

There are other tells you can divine from these pre-selected buttons, when you take the time to think about what an instant action means. If an opponent seems to frequently use the pre-select buttons, but occasionally hesitates, you can figure him for a type of hand where the decision is not obvious. So, always consider what an instant action –or the lack of one – might mean.

Doyle Brunson

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