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Betting Speed[ return to main articles page ]

By: seal
Published on May 27th, 2005
There are two things that are very important to the process of information gathering in online no limit games – speed of betting and betting patterns. The simpler of these to recognize and respond to is betting speed, but even something that seems so simple takes on many levels in this game. <READMORE>

Betting speed is, of course, how quickly you and your opponents make your bets, checks, raises, or folds. If you are not the incredibly observant or perhaps anal type, the only time you may have noticed betting speed is when a player is very slow. Since online play tends to move at warp speed, many players get impatient with someone who is slow and will even type in something like “zzzzzz” or worse to show their boredom. Relatively speedy play is important if you don’t want to alienate any of your fellow players. If, however, there is a large bet to consider, especially all-in, even the speed demons show a bit more patience with the player facing the decision.

Why is this? Well, in most players’ minds there is a huge difference between calling a bet for a few chips and committing all your chips to a pot. When a player quickly folds, it is assumed that there is no decision to be made. Bad hand = fold, it’s automatic. In fact there is even a way to do it automatically. Almost every online site features a “check or fold” radio checkbox that you can click on and then quickly turn your attention to something else as it will perform either a check or fold if there is a bet without any further input from you.

A while ago a famous pro and author suggested using this as a kind of online tell. He said that if you hesitate for a few seconds before checking a flop and the action is quickly checked around the table you should take that as a sign that all your opponents have no interest in the pot and you can try to steal on the next bet. While this may be true in an unsophisticated game, I have used this to my advantage on more than one occasion. Many sites also have a radio button that just says “check”. When I flop a monster I will sometimes hit this instead of waiting to bet my hand. I may do it with the intention of check raising right away or even to give a free card to let my opponents catch up a little. Either way those observant players who notice these things will assume I am disinterested in the pot and adjust their strategy accordingly. I can then pick up a few more chips by betting or raising on a later round. Sometimes this move has even earned me an all in raise from a player who hit his “nut” straight or flush while I was patiently sitting on my full house or quads.

Remember though that if you choose to employ this strategy with anything but the stone cold nuts you are GAMBLING! Doing this against several opponents when you have flopped trip jacks with your Kc Jc and the flop of 10h Jh Js is a terrible play as you can now lose to a straight or a flush. Doing it when you have Jh 9h and the flop comes 9d 9c Js however can really help build your stack. I made this exact play recently and was lucky enough to have the case 9 come on the river after I checked both the flop and the turn. First to act on the river I put in a very small bet that was subsequently raised. I quickly reraised all-in, and was called just as quickly by a player who assumed I was bluffing and thought his pocket pair was good.

So this raises the question as to whether betting speed reveals any information or not. I submit that in a vacuum it does not, but taken over time as part of a pattern it does. If a player near the end of a tournament has been taking a lot of time before folding on every hand and then suddenly and quickly goes all-in, that is probably significant. If a player who almost always acts quickly, whether folding or calling, takes a little time and puts in even a small raise you’ve got to figure him for a premium hand.

For disinformation purposes this is why it is important to try to be consistent in your betting speed. Fast play is always appreciated by your opponents, so try to make quick decisions and act on them promptly. The few times you do have a hard choice to make it is fine to take your time doing it. But for the most part try to be consistent. This way when you check or bet with your usual speed you will not be giving away any information to your more observant opponents.
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