Normalizing Your Response Time

In poker, both online and in live rooms, one of the foremost ways to gather tells about a poker player’s holdings is in the manner of his response. The amount of time it takes him to act, the way he moves in doing so (or perhaps in things he types into the chatbox): all of these add up to a picture that in correlation with that player’s history can help you determine his cards, and therefore how to respond.

As a way of deleting any information that might be telegraphed in this way, one could learn a lot from studying the table mannerisms of Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson. It doesn’t take a lot of study really, as there is really only one move. Chris looks exactly the same no matter what his table action is, and he always takes the same amount of time to apply it. He may know already if he is going to raise, fold, or call, but in taking the same amount of time each time, it becomes impossible for anyone to tell anything about him outside what can be gleaned from his cold hard data.

Most anyone can improve their poker game by following this mantra: develop a manner, and use it every time. Doing so will leave your opponent with a much more difficult decision.

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