Poker Tips: Timing Your Plays

There are three things that Poker is all about: Strategy, skill, and observation. During a Poker game, you need to constantly observe other players' movements and listen to what they say in order to better know how they play (i.e. when they call, raise, bet, or fold). If you are only paying attention to your own hand, and not concentrating on what other people are doing, you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. In fact, it is important to focus more on other people than yourself. That is because it is what the other players are doing that matters, and not so much what you are doing. If you can tell whether somebody has a good hand or not, and simultaneously know the strength of your hand, it is much more easier to come out on top at the end of the game.

One way to discover information about another player's hand is by watching the timing of their bets. All you need is the timing, you do not even need to see body language or hear what the player is saying (although that helps). Usually, body language is used to find out tells, although good Poker players usually do not have tells, so that method is out of the question.

When using the timing method to determine a the strength of a player's hand, you must first decide whether you think the player is experienced or not. It is more likely that an experienced player will know about this timing trick, and will try to fool other players with it (like you). For example, somebody with a bad hand could bluff by immediately raising when it is their turn, and, alternatively, a player holding good cards could sit idle for a few moments and act like they are pondering strongly about their next move, when they know they are going to win. If everybody at the table is very experienced, it is unwise to pull this trick. The classic "act strong when weak" and vice versa is a tactic that nearly everyone in Poker has employed.

A great tip, one that is quite simple and effective but rarely utilized, is to do the same thing every turn, no matter what. On every move, spend the same amount of time to make your move, whether betting, folding, raising, or calling. Even if you want to make your decision quickly, wait your set amount of time (perhaps, ten or fifteen seconds) before making your move. That way, nobody will be able to track you based on timing, and you will have a slight (or in some cases, strong) advantage over everyone else.