So you’ve recognized that no-limit hold’em is about playing your opponent and not your cards, yet there still seems to be a distinct lack of calculation in your calculated guesses every time you look down at a queen nine suited or an ace three off. Well, it is crucial to realize in both live games and, of course, online, that while players may not twitch when bluffing or scratch their ear when holding a monster, they do give out information with every fold, check, call, or raise.

At any table, online or live, each player sets up an image for him or herself by the way they bet. The most obvious of these images is the aggressive player. Right from the first hands of a game this player will come to the forefront, raising pre-flop to steal blinds, or after the flop from good position. Against these players it is important to pay close attention to any possible patterns in their aggression. Is it truly erratic? If so then simply step back and let them self-destruct. But if, for example, they consistently raise in late position following a round of checking and calling, it is safe to assume that a large percentage of these raises are bluffs or semi-bluffs. Aggressive players will also thrive on the weakness of other players at the table, therefore be aware that if you check or call, the pot will likely be raised by this player. By noticing these trends, you will be able to spot opportunities for check-raising or slow-playing.

It is equally important to spot the conservative players at the table. The strategy of these players (if indeed they have one) is to fold anything but monsters in the hope they can pick up an occasional pot while their opponents knock each other out. These types of players are especially common in longer tournaments and in spotting them you can learn to deal with a large percentage of the opponents you will come up against. A general rule to apply here is if they check, you bet and if they bet, you fold. The other time when you might see a tight player act is when they are on the button and action has been checked around to them. If a player’s involvement increases in frequency when he or she is last to act, then the chances that these bets are bluffs or semi-bluffs increases with it.

Of course, between the aggressive and the conservative are a whole range of players, each of whom will react in set ways to specific situations. For instance, some players like to see as many flops as possible, as cheaply as possible, and will only significantly act subsequent to this. These players will call a big blind with just about anything and then hope to represent what they see, which is why it is important to protect good hole cards with a raise. Another type of player is the ‘all-in’ player, who, having little confidence in their ability to judge a raise will opt to go all-in. If someone has won several pots by going all-in it is once again safe to assume that each of these hands was not necessarily a monster and a call is therefore more likely to be the correct play.

This judgment of raise amounts can be a major way of telling what your opponent is holding. A more novice player, for instance, will attempt to bluff a pot with badly judged over-raises, revealing their belief that they are most likely behind in a hand. For example if the flop contains an ace and two middle cards and your opponent checks behind you then it is reasonable to say that they do not have an ace in their hand. Therefore if he or she raises three or four times the pot following the turn or river cards they are most likely attempting to represent the ace. Indeed, any bet which seems out of the ordinary for a particular player should be eyed with suspicion. A player who usually bets two to three times the big blind pre-flop and half to three quarters of the pot post-blind should be expected to continue to do so, therefore if they markedly over-bet or under-bet compared with these amounts there is a high likelihood that they are either in the lead or bluffing respectively.

There are also some more specific ways of gaining tells from an opponents betting patterns. A player who is raising with a strong hand will usually do so with an amount that is often neat and rounded, as well as being related to the size of the blinds or pot. They will also usually take a longer time in measuring out a raise in order to attain maximum profit from it. A bluffed raise is more likely to be a quick and random. This speed of bet is particularly important in online play, especially when a player has made a seemingly instantaneous call the round before. This call is likely made using the pre-chosen action button available online and often means a player has a drawing hand. His speed of bet is now therefore important in determining whether they have made their hand or not. In live play this pace issue relates to how particular a player is about counting out a raise.

Overall the most important thing to remember when attempting to ascertain tells from the betting patterns of other players is that each player will have an individual approach as to how they play the game. Their type and style as a poker player can be observed in the first dozen or so hands at any given table and, from the information gained, a more calculated guess can be made as to what they have in their hand. While a higher standard of player will be able to subvert these basic rules and therefore make it dangerous to adhere to them too strictly they remain a basic foundation on which a solid no-limit hold‘em game is built.