Playing poker online is gaining in popularity and many players log on each day to play for real money. I have played and practiced online but am still skeptical about playing for any large amount of money in games on the Internet. First let me say that there are many reputable sites offering online poker and I have been assured that they do everything in their power to make sure these games are as honest as they can be.

One operator of an online poker site told me that they have more control over detecting suspected collusion. He said all the hands are recorded and they can go back and look at the play of all the players and see exactly what hands players were holding when any suspect activity occurred. This is fine for detecting instances of players overrunning another player with raises but there are other forms of cheating that may go undetected.

There are numerous ways that players online can communicate with each other. Internet Relay Chat, ICQ, instant messaging, and telephones can all be used to relay information to each other. Several players in a game communicating with each other could share what cards they held making it easier to figure out what hand the other player may have by the cards he can’t hold. With multiple phone lines and laptop computers you could even have several players sitting next to each other in the same room while they play.

In a cardroom it is one player to a hand. You can’t turn around and ask a spectator how to play a particular hand. This is not the case online. I know for a fact that during some online tournaments some players will get together and play as a group. One player will actually play in the tournament while four or five of his advisors will be with him online offering advice as to the best play via instant messaging. A player can even have his advisors sitting next to him in the same room while he plays.

Finally, if you do play online, make sure you chose an established site with a good reputation. There have been a few instances where a site simply went out of business and disappeared along with all the players’ money.

Although the majority of players, cardrooms, and online sites are honest, you still have to be on your guard whenever your money is involved.

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This line deals with the issue of collusion when two or more players in the game secretly conspire to cheat you. Players may secretly signal their hands to each other. They may start raising every time the mark or target enters the hand. They will either try to drive that player out after he has bet or enough of them will stay in the hand until the end with the likelihood of one of them drawing out the targeted player. When the player turns over his hand, if one of them has him beat, he will show his cards and the rest will quietly muck their cards without showing what they were raising or calling with.

When I first started playing, I had heard stories about collusion but did not really believe that this would happen in a low limit game in a casino cardroom. After experiencing it first hand, I am now on the lookout whenever I play.

I entered one of the smaller cardrooms on the Strip in Las Vegas. There was a $3 / $6 game going on and I waited for a seat to open. The game seemed fairly normal as I watched from the rail. I did notice that most of the players in this game knew each other by the conversation that was going on at the table. I finally got a seat and sat down. I said hello to my fellow players and received a few grunts in response.

This particular casino allows a maximum of four raises during each betting round. On the third hand I was dealt Ah-Jd and limped in from middle position. The player to my left immediately raised the pot. The player to his left re-raised, as did two other players at the table. It was capped when it got back to me costing me an additional $12 to see the flop.

The flop brought Jc-Js-2c and I bet my trips and the betting was capped again. The turn was 4h and the same betting and raising took place. The river brought a third club on board. I checked and the other four players bet and raised. I figured that I was probably beat but the pot was huge so I called. Sure enough one player turned over T-4 of clubs and the others just threw their cards in face down. It would be easy to write this off as a bad beat, but I had been watching this game while waiting for a seat and had noticed this player had been playing solid starting hands. I was surprised that he would play a Ten and a 4 in a raised pot from middle position. I had also noticed that there was not much raising going on before I sat down.

Things returned to normal as I folded the next few hands. When I was the big and small blind the betting was again capped before it got to me. Finally, I was on the button and called with a playable but not great hand. The big blind raised me and this was reraised by a player who had previously limped in. This time I folded getting out for $3.1 then picked up my chips and left the table. It was so obvious what was being done that I had no desire to stick around any longer. It did not take me the full half-hour to determine who the sucker was in this game.

Looking back I probably should have made a comment to the floor person when I left but I was not sure if anything would have been done, as most of these guys seemed to be regulars. My advice to anyone who thinks there is collusion going on is to leave the table as quickly as possible. There is no reason to hang around even if you only suspect you might be getting cheated.

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If everyone were as honest as you and I, we would not have to worry about cheating when we played poker. The fact is that the majority of players are honest and ethical. However, when money is involved there will always be someone looking for an angle to get more than what rightfully belongs to them. Unfortunately this is a fact of life and we must be aware of the possibility and take measures to ensure that it does not happen to us when we play.

In cardrooms where a dealer is supplied, you don't have to worry about being dealt seconds or some other form of manipulation on the part of the dealer to cheat you. What you do have to be concerned about are the other players at the table. There is cheating that can take place by a single person trying to gain an advantage over you. There is also collusion that takes place amongst two or more players.

The most common form of cheating by a single player is when the person sitting next to you tries to look at your hole cards. If he can see what you have, he has a big advantage over you, as he can fold a losing hand or raise if he has you beat. Fortunately, this is the simplest form of cheating to guard against. All you have to do is cover your cards with both your hands as you look at them for the first time. Practice looking at your cards while covering them. Have a friend sit next to you and try to peak at them. Make sure you are looking at your cards in a way so they cannot be seen by another player.

After looking at your cards, memorize them and don't look again. At this point when you put them back down, you want to cover them with an object such as a couple of chips or coins. Some players bring some sort of lucky charm to the table for this purpose. The reason you cover your cards is to protect them from getting mixed into the discards or getting fouled by another player's cards. This is another form of cheating that occurs when a player purposely throws his cards into yours. If your cards are not protected, they can be declared dead if the other player's cards touch them.

Sometimes a player will declare a hand that he does not have in hopes that you will throw your cards into the muck and the player will then win by default. As an example, suppose you have the winning pair. A player announces that he has a flush. You throw your cards into the muck and then see that this player only has a four flush. He might say something along the lines of, "Gee, I thought I had a flush." Since you threw your cards away, he wins. Always hold onto your cards until the winner is determined. Don't muck your cards just because a player announces that he has you beat.

Another move a player might use to gain information is to make a move toward the pot with chips in his hands pretending to bet only to pull it back once he sees what your intentions are. If he has a weak hand, and sees you reaching for your chips to bet, he might then check or fold. If he has a strong hand and knows you are going to bet, he now has the perfect opportunity to check-raise you. The way to combat this is to always wait a few seconds until the player has completed his action before you make your play.
There is a line from the movie Rounders that states: "If you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table then you are the sucker!"

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While it is important to look for tells from other players, it is more important to not give off any tells of your own. You should concentrate on controlling your own emotions and expressions so you don't give your opponents any clues about your hand. Have a trusted friend watch your play and let you know if he can detect any tells you may have.

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These are just a few of the tells you may see at the table. There has been a lot written about tells, as they deal with the psychological aspect of the game. Poker expert Mike Caro has written books and produced videotapes about tells. It is part of the game you will want to study more about as you strive to improve.

Keep in mind that you will not be able to spot any tells if you are not paying attention to the other players. You must be looking for tells in order to spot them and this means keeping your focus on the game all the time. When you are not involved in a hand you can devote more attention to studying the other players in hopes of spotting a tell or two.

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Now that you know a few of the common tells, you can work on your own game to make sure you are not sending out these tells to other players. You can also work on counter tells to send just the opposite signal. One way you can do this is by always acting strong when you are strong and acting weak when you are weak. This will throw off some of the players who may be looking for the opposite sign.

I like to send off a counter tell when I make a flush on the flop. I will purposely look at my pocket cards to give the impression that I did not make the flush. I will then smooth-call a bet on the flop and raise on the turn.

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A tell is a mannerism or physical movement that can give you an indication of the strength of an opponent's hand or tell you if the player is bluffing. It can be a voluntary movement to try to deceive you or it can be an involuntary reaction to the cards. The term tell is short for "a telltale sign." If you can learn to spot tells, you will be able to win some hands just by reading another player. Once you master the basics of the game, and are playing winning poker, you can learn to read your opponents and increase your profits. Tells are the body language of the poker table. Some tells are fairly obvious while others can be subtler.

Acts Weak When Strong
One of the universal tells you will discover is that most players will act strong when they are weak and act weak when they are strong. Players who look sad or shrug when placing bets in the pot usually have a very strong hand. They will sometimes verbalize this by saying in a weak voice, "Oh, all right I'll call." They may use some other expression, but anytime they act reluctant to call, you can be certain that they have a strong hand. A player making a loud, forceful bet with much fanfare usually does not have a strong hand.

Where Are They Looking?

A player staring right at you is daring you to call them. They are trying to intimidate you into folding by daring you to call their bet. A player looking away from you, trying to seem uninterested, usually has a strong hand. That player wants you to call and is trying to seem nonchalant about his hand.

Suddenly Paying Attention
I mentioned this tell earlier in the book when I wrote about starting hands, but it should be repeated here. When a player who is reading or watching TV looks at the cards dealt to him and sets down the magazine or directs his attention to the game, then he has a playable hand.

Staring at the Flop
After the flop cards are turned up on the board, a player staring at the flop usually was not helped by it. A player who sees the flop and immediately looks away or glances down at his chips has made a hand.

The No Flush Tell
If a player looks at his pocket cards when three cards of the same suit flop, he usually doesn't have a flush. Chances are he has one card of that suit and he wants to see the value of the suited card.

Shaking Hands
If a player's hands are shaking when he makes his bet, you can be sure he has have a very strong hand. This is an involuntary tell that is not an act. I know this from experience. When I won my first tournament I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that I found myself shaking when I made a big hand. I knew I was doing it but had difficulty trying to control it. One observer actually mentioned this to me after the match was over.

Breathing
You can tell the strength of a player's hand by noticing changes in his breathing. This is another involuntary tell. A player who starts breathing rapidly after seeing the next card has a strong hand. If you are close to this player you may actually hear him breathing. On the other hand, if a player is holding his breath waiting for you to act, then he is usually bluffing.

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