A Very Valuable “Tell” in Online Poker
The “Insta-call” is a play that is often encountered when playing online poker. Many times it is referred to in the context of: “…He moved all-in and I insta-called”. Many inexperienced players will use it to feign strength while playing a hand. When playing online it is more difficult to gain information on players, because there are no physical tells available. Online players have to rely heavily on reaction time and past betting behavior for a majority of their reads. The “Insta-Call” is a very valuable tell in online poker.
It can be defined as an immediate call of a sizable bet that generally indicates weakness. Inexperienced or poor players generally use this tactic to represent strength when they are usually weak, or on a draw
Let me share an example of an “insta-call.” I was playing in a $50 one table SNG on Pokerstars. The blinds were 25/50 and there were seven players remaining. The chip stacks ranged from $750 to $3500.
I am in middle position with about 1700 chips and look down at A-K-. I made a standard raise of four times the big blind making it $200 to go.
A player in late position, one off the button with about $1500 chips, called the raise and the blinds folded. We went to the flop heads up with $475 in the pot and the flop came K-K-4. I led out with a bet of $300, about two-thirds of the pot. The other player (who I had pegged as a fairly inexperienced poor player) immediately called my bet. I will almost always put him on a PP here, especially when I get the “Insta-Call” from him. The turn came 6c. I thought there was no way he put me on a King here and just moved in pretty sure he would call with any part of the board or a PP. He thought about it for no more than 10 seconds before he called. He showed pocket Queens and the river came a Jack. I won the hand and went on to finish second in the tournament.
When trying to identify the “Insta-Call”, it is important to understand what sort of player makes this play and why. Referring back to the example I just gave, you should ask yourself “Why did this player call the all in on the turn?” The correct way of playing the hand in my opinion would have been to move in on me before the flop. Had he done that I probably would have folded and waited for a different spot to get all my money in.
See: Poker Strategy: Laying Down a Big Hand
To his disadvantage he was greedy and that ended up costing him the tournament. Nevertheless on the flop this player should have thought long and hard about this call. I had a very tight solid table image. I had not raised many pots or showed any bluffs. When I made a sizable bet on the flop he really should have thought his queens were beaten. Just like so many other inexperienced players, he just did not want to believe that his high pocket pair was cracked and was prepared to call just about any bet to attempt to show strength in the hand.
I’m not sure I buy into the possibility that he thought I was bluffing either. If he had thought that I was bluffing he would have moved in on the flop not called my all-in. He wanted to believe something that was not true. He wanted to believe his queens were good and then felt pot committed on the turn and had to call (which was also a mistake). As a poker player you should, and most likely do, understand that there are no guarantees or plays that will work 100% of the time. For the most part though, if you have flopped a big hand and make a standard to large bet on the flop and get called instantly by a poor inexperienced player it is safe to say that you are ahead in the hand.
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