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Considering how legendary Poker is as a game of bluffing and tells, it’s surprising to many online casino newcomers that playing it online is so successful. Many don’t understand how you can even manage to bluff when you can’t see the other players’ faces or body language or show them yours, but it’s quite possible.
Instead of bluffing with your expression, in online Poker you bluff with your playing style — here are some of the things to pay special attention to.
Turn Order
This isn’t important by itself, but how much a player bets can hint to you whether they are bluffing or not depending on if they do it earlier or later in a round. Pay special attention to super low bets — if they happen early on, likely the player is bluffing to make you think they have a bad hand. Why else would they try to minimize risk when the pot isn’t big enough to even be very high stakes yet?
Bet Size
As mentioned above, bet size matters especially when you compare it with the turn order of the players. Tiny bets in low-risk situations can hint at a bluff of having a bad hand, as can huge bets in high-risk situations — the player just might have a bad hand and want to scare the rest of the players into folding so that they can still win!
Play Style
Just like when you play Poker face to face with the other players, in online Poker you can get a feel for the other players’ playing styles within a round or two. Some will deliberately mix up their style, but most will reveal patterns obvious enough to predict if you play with them for awhile. Always play a round playing it safe until you get a feel for the other players’ styles, and make sure not to let your own actions become predictable or they’ll be able to read your bluffs, too — even long-distance.
