The "pause"

[LombardiStix]

I may have brought this up before, but I just wanted to say something. Does the amount of time a player takes to call/raise/check influence your play? Do you think it should? If you haven't noticed, then pay attention next time you play.

I've seen players do the almost run outta time thing then call/raise with a big pair like they're tryin to make it look like they were having a tough decision. I do realize with the amount of players "multi-tabling" many pauses are not purposeful, but how many do you think are? Do you use them?

Stix

[Ramster]

This happened to me just recently in a tourney

we were very deep in a tourney when i woke up with QQ in MP
The blinds were 750/1500
There was an EP raise to 4500 from a bigger stack than me
I made it 15k to go (leaving about 30k behind), looking to take the hand down there, and it folded round the big stack who ummed and ahhed till the extra time nearly ran out then they re-raised me all in

I was thinking that i was probly racing against AK here but they flipped over AA

I just wish i was good enough to fold in that position

[scrawnybob]

hi

I would say yes and no - sometimes players are savvy to "decision" times so they will play around with it on purpose

as should you - IMHO it IS worth going into the tank if you

a) have a genuinely tough decision - so you make the right one

b) might be able to look like you have a genuinely tough decision - either when you have a total lock on the hand OR if you feel that they are just trying it on

delaying a killer re-raise (with not enough) can often take a hand where the other guy has bet out looking to steal

there is alot of thinking into delayed calls / quick raises etc etc and its worth forming your own ideas on them and also getting a feel for them

there are definately bet size tells online and also bet time tells online -

or more specifically putting the two together and seeing inconsistencies

eg. bet size says one thing - taking forever / zero time to make that move says another

hope thats a help

cheers scrawnybob

ps. if you want to mask your decision time issues or tells - then use the same pause time on all hands ... make this not too long (else its really irritating) but longer than inta call type play as you cant keep making good decisions quickly

pps. one thing I would use is to get established as a "regular pace kind of guy" becuase some players will start to see that as you being a calling station (regardless of the actual bets you make believe it or not) - and then go into the tank on hands where you need to really make them think you NEED to think, and pre-prepare to insta call on odd hands where you want to "accidently" give away alot of strength

[LeanAndMean]

When I find a player taking a long time, I assume he has a monster and is trying to deceive me. Of course it may be that he is multi tableing and busy, but that would happen a lot. An out of the blue stall I take as a tell.

[Terminal Frost]

I've seen players do the almost run outta time thing then call/raise with a big pair like they're tryin to make it look like they were having a tough decision. I do realize with the amount of players "multi-tabling" many pauses are not purposeful, but how many do you think are? Do you use them?

Some players I don't take the pause into account because I know they are playing so many games that the pauses are there every move. I do pay attention to insta calls except they can mean one of two things. Fake strength or a newbies excitement over a monster.

[GOIVIT]

I don't see many players taking extra time and then coming over the top. I find if a player goes into the tank after an all in or big raise it means they will fold 90% of the time. I generally play fast and sometime pause to see if I like my position against a big raise or all in, but not very often. I really hate players who take a long time every hand regardless of what they do.

[rgchan]

hi

ps. if you want to mask your decision time issues or tells - then use the same pause time on all hands ... make this not too long (else its really irritating) but longer than inta call type play as you cant keep making good decisions quickly

Even insta-calls could just be the player is multi-tabling and clicked the Call button ahead of time and went back to another game.But if a player is always immediately calling it could make them look like a calling station who missed the flop and has a couple over cards.I agree its best to use some time on your clock and the same amount of time each time is best.That way you give nothing away.
But I thik it would be a mistake to READ too much into how much time a player uses on his clock.Is the Insta call always strength or a good Bluff.? And is the long delay always a trick and the player really has a monster.?? Players do the opposite often to trick other players. It,s best just to play your own Cards.
Rg

[illphillllllll]

seeing a player do it once i won't jump to conclusions. i will always take notice if they show their hand while doing it so i can make notes further down the line. i have seen this used to disguise strength or a person looking for another free card. also as term said there are many players that do it because of multitabling which is normally pretty easy to see after a while.

[zzzzisme]

i remember the first time the delay then big raise happened to me, when i just started playing online, deep in tourney i was small stack against big stack, big stack limped in, i made 3x raise with qq, he took what seemed forever then raised enuf to puy me all in, thought he was trying to bully his big stack against me, i called he flipped aa. im out. taught me valuble lesson early, as i do pay attention to timing now

[Poker Orifice]

Even insta-calls could just be the player is multi-tabling and clicked the Call button ahead of time and went back to another game.But if a player is always immediately calling it could make them look like a calling station who missed the flop and has a couple over cards.I agree its best to use some time on your clock and the same amount of time each time is best.That way you give nothing away.
But I thik it would be a mistake to READ too much into how much time a player uses on his clock.Is the Insta call always strength or a good Bluff.? And is the long delay always a trick and the player really has a monster.?? Players do the opposite often to trick other players. It,s best just to play your own Cards.
Rg

I actually think it's rarely best to just 'play your own two cards'.

As far as timing tells go... there are some that are quite typical (ie. the quick check on the flop.. often a flush draw or OESD,...lots of others but have no intentions of listing them.... If I told ya I might have to kill ya, lol). I won't make my play etched in stone on a timing tell... but will make a note of it on a particular player if I happen to notice something (ie. the long pause, re-raise with the nuts).