Poker Face
Do you ever receive that itch? The itch to gamble, to head to the nearest gambling establishment, to discover a superior stakes game of Hold’em, to sit at a Black-jack table for hours on end. I like that itch. And I like to scratch it.
I also love to watch individuals wager. No 2 poker faces seem equal. When I gamble I like to believe I put on a poker face which is impassable. Except I know I have specific personal habits. For 1, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I bet on poker or Black-jack. And then I smoke. But I smoke whether I am succeeding or losing, whether I’ve a great hand or bad.
I once bet in a weekly poker game. The casino game was constantly 5 card draw. There was a player who wagered with us every single week who always wore a hat. When he was dealt a great hand, unconsciously, he would begin touching and playing with his hat. Pointless to say, he never won.
The very best poker player I ever saw was a person who manufactured a lot more movements and signals at a poker table than anybody I had ever seen. He was flawless in the way he dressed. Often an high priced suit and tie, boots shined and nails manicured. He was fastidious in this manner. And he was always brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or stacking his chips in neat little piles.
I use to study him for hours. I’d attempt to see if I could notice his tell. Picking lint off his shirt- did this mean he was bluffing? Arranging his chips in a short pile – did this imply he had a good hand?
Years later I ran into him in a very bar in Philly and we had a drink. I asked him if he had been aware of all those movements he manufactured or if they were subconscious. He informed me that each and every single thing he did at a poker table was intentional. He said that everybody is always checking out everybody else’s poker face. They’re attempting to spot the the tell.
So his technique was to provide them lots to assume about. His thinking was if they have been pondering about him picking a piece of lint off his shirt and what it meant they sure weren’t thinking about their cards.
His technique was diversion. And it worked for him. By no means give up a process that works for you.