12.02
Poker Face
Do you ever get that itch? The itch to bet, to head to the nearest gambling den, to locate a superior stakes game of Holdem, to sit at a Twenty-one table for hours on end. I like that itch. And I love to scratch it.
I also really like to watch men and women bet. No two poker faces seem similar. When I wager I like to assume I put on a poker face which is impenetrable. Except I know I have certain personal habits. For 1, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I wager on poker or Pontoon. And then I smoke. Except I chain smoke regardless of whether I am succeeding or losing, whether or not I’ve a beneficial hand or bad.
I once played in the weekly poker game. The casino game was usually 5 card draw. There was a person who played with us every single week who always wore a hat. When he was dealt a excellent hand, subconsciously, he would start touching and playing with his hat. Needless to say, he by no means won.
The very best poker gambler I ever saw was a gentleman who made additional movements and gestures at a poker table than anyone I had ever seen. He was flawless in the way he dressed. Often an pricey suit and tie, shoes shined and nails trimmed. He was diligent in this manner. And he was often brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or stacking his chips in tidy little piles.
I use to analyze him for hours. I’d tried to see if I could spot his tell. Picking fuzz off his shirt- did this mean he was bluffing? Stacking his chips in a short pile – did this imply he had a very good hand?
Many years later I ran into him in a bar in New York and we had a beverage. I asked him if he had been aware of all those actions he made or if they were subconscious. He told me that every single individual thing he did at a poker table was deliberate. He said that everybody is constantly checking out everybody else’s poker face. They are trying to notice the the tell.
So his method was to give them lots to assume about. His thinking was if they had been thinking about him picking a piece of lint off his shirt and what it meant they positive were not thinking about their cards.
His process was distraction. And it worked for him. In no way give up a program that works for you.