Angle shooting: can it be done in online poker?

Angle shooting is one of the least discussed concepts in the poker world. Related to the set of unwritten rules that every good player tries to respect on the green carpet, angle shooting is an example of what, morally, should not be done. Basically, angle shooting occurs when a player performs an action to benefit himself, either by cheating other players or by breaking a rule of the game.

If you are taking your first steps in the poker world, it is very likely that you are not familiar with this term nor are you familiar with the actions that are considered angle shooting and that you can find in both online and offline poker. 

If, on the other hand, you are a player with many tables, it is possible that you have witnessed or suffered this type of action by players with little commitment to poker etiquette or, in other words, to that set of rules that serve to ensure education and fair play during a poker game. 

Angle shooting: trap or strategy?

Although some consider that technically it is not cheating, and most consider it a way of acting in very bad taste, many of the actions that are understood as "angle shooting" are illegal according to the rules of poker.

It could be said that angle shooting occurs when a player performs an action maliciously to gain an advantage over the opponent. Ambiguity plays a very important role in this type of "tactic". Common examples of angle shooting include:

- Imagine it's your turn in a poker game. You are not sure what to do, you just know that you need to buy time and see how your opponents react to decide. You make a slight move that gives the dealer to understand that you check, but, later, you explain that you have not made such an action. This would be an example of angle shooting.

Another type of move that leads to deception at a poker table is to move your cards to the front of the table, which makes the other players think that you have folded. If you then say no, you are breaking the ethical rules of poker games.

Angle shooting is considered a total lack of respect for the other players. There are times when it is not punished, but there are times when it is expressly communicated to the players that it is forbidden. Unfortunately, some players use angle shooting as a strategy to get information about their opponents' moves.

However, these tricks do not always work. For example, there is a form of angle shooting that is always penalized, the String Bet, which consists of throwing the chips to bet fractionally. In this sense, the rules are clear: only the first chip that crosses the betting line, or the first one that touches the mat if they are dribbled, is considered a valid bet.

Let's see it with an example: let's suppose that a player takes 5 chips out of 10, grouped together, and when he advances his hand, he drops one and then the others in separate spaces. In this case, only the first chip is considered a valid bet, as a first bet.

If the player has pushed the chips on the table in a line and they are in a row, only the first chip or chips that cross the betting line are considered valid. It is precisely for these cases that this line was created.

Another String Bet modality that has been used a lot in movies and television is the Call followed by a raise. In poker it is not really allowed to do this, since the first call announcement is considered valid and the subsequent raise is canceled.

There are many other forms of "angle shooting", such as those used by some players who play a game of misdirection when it is their turn to speak during the betting round. Instead of expressing clearly what their move is, they say it covertly, preventing it from being understood. The reason? A lot of information can be gleaned from the opponents' hand by observing how they react.

Again, a malicious action that is not considered to be typical of a good poker player. To stop this type of behavior, some casinos require you to be clear when betting, even to express yourself in the local language when you have to speak in the bets.

Unfortunately, there are many other more subtle techniques related to angle shooting that also mislead the rest of your opponents. One of them is, for example, to hide chips of a high value between small chips, so that the players do not know very well what is the real value of your chances in a bet. This is known as a "false bomb", which consists of simulating a bet by grabbing chips and moving them forward to see the opponent's reaction.

You can also simulate a fold by advancing your cards on your turn. The "false click", which is when someone makes a mistake with the amount they are betting - it is a term coined in the online rooms, from the "click" of the mouse, but has been transferred to the tables - but in the perspective of "angle shooting" is used by some players with high cards (AA, KK), to simulate an opening or an erroneous raise (for example, if the POT is 50, they raise to 500), which will possibly be followed by other players who will remain at the table, not thinking that the cards of that player are a real problem, not knowing that they have been led into a trap - and, even, to lie with your cards and call a hand you don't have, betting accordingly.

And the most extreme modality, betting by saying that you have not looked at your cards, when you have actually looked at them.

At this point, you are probably wondering if it is possible to angle shoot in online poker. If so, you've noticed that all the examples we've just given about this malicious behavior are related to offline poker, but what about online poker? Could you suffer from angle shooting? Find out below.

Is there angle shooting in online poker?

Luckily for regular online poker players, the online mode significantly reduces the chances of angle shooting.

Is it impossible? No, nothing is impossible. Just think that even in online poker, they can perform tells readings, that is, the gestures of the players that can show how strong their hand is. The time it takes to make a bet, an instant raise or a very slow check are examples of virtual tells that should be interpreted.

The same is true for angle shooting. The possibilities are reduced to a minimum, but there are a number of moves that incur in this unfair way of playing poker. For example:

Leaving a table and returning

If you are a regular online poker player, this type of angle shooting is very common. It occurs when a player, after a win, leaves the table in order to protect his winnings and then re-enters the same table.

Abusing the disconnection protection

Some online poker rooms offer users Disconnect Protection, an option whereby if a player disconnects for any reason, they are considered to remain at the table with an all-in. This option keeps you in the game with a chance to win if you have the best hand. Disconnection Protection can be used every one or two hours.

There are players who use this feature when they doubt whether or not they have the best hand and, therefore, do not want to invest more money in the pot.

Abusing the time bank

The time bank is an extra time given to the players in the online mode to make their decisions, whether it is to fold, bet, call, raise or go all-in.

The vast majority of players use the time they need to decide, without prolonging the decision out of respect for the rest of the players and so as not to break the flow of the game. However, there are others who slow down the pace of the game considerably on purpose and do so for several reasons. One of them is to annoy the opponents.

Sharing a table with a player who engages in this type of tactic can be exhausting and very frustrating. In case you are not playing several tables, don't despair, do other things while a bad player who practices angle shooting tries to demoralize you. This way, you will avoid being overly affected.

But, as everything in poker, this can have another reading: the kind of player who does these things, does them all the time and, therefore, can be "read" at the table, becoming "tells" in the pattern of play and betting of these players.

What's more, even in live poker these players replicate these time-out patterns, which say more about their game than any tic, so that one ends up noticing this type of trickery that is part of their game and that, as you will see when you cross them at the table, they will repeat with almost all probability. And this can be used against them. All is not always fair in the game, especially not in poker.