Dec 12, 2017 Have you ever worried that your face gives away your thoughts every time? Putting on a poker face is always a good skill to have, but especially with performance reviews (and bonus season) coming up, now is a great time to ponder how to get a poker face at work.
Online poker is great but sometimes you just need to take your game to the next level. You want to play on the stage in front of people; you want to get the chance to win big in a casino resort’s poker room or, perhaps, show off your skills in the poker room of a cruise ship.
Live poker is exciting, and can potentially be lucrative. But, as an veteran poker player will tell you, when you are playing a live poker game, keeping an unreadable poker face is crucial. Beginners often do not fully consider what it means to have a poker face – and the fact that they need to maintain it for the duration of the session. Beginners often consider game play and hands, but they don’t necessarily practice their body language or their facial expressions. From personal experience, I can tell you that many a hand can be won or lost on the strength of your poker face. Here’s how to keep yours strong even when you feel nervous and excited.
1. Don’t Think About Your Stresses
If you are dwelling on the bills you have to pay or your poor performance at work, it will be reflected in your posture and on your face, even if you don’t realize it, and it will betray the fact that you are nervous and unsure. Try to relax yourself before a game. Put other problems aside and focus on enjoying the game.
It’s best to try and put some distance between yourself and your other worries. If you are too concerned about other aspects of your life it will not only show on your face, but it will also make it more difficult to focus on your game.
2. Control Your Eyes
Even the smallest eye movements can potentially give you away. Unfortunately, many eye movements are completely involuntary, but they give your opponents a clear view of what you are really thinking. Before a session, practice keeping your eyes level, not flickering. Practice not looking from side to side without good reason during the game. On the other hand, you also shouldn’t stare fixedly into space or at an opponent – this never gives the impression that you are neutral, but instead that you are crazy.
It used to be the case that many players would wear sunglasses while playing live poker, as this helps keep eyes hidden and gives a more mysterious appearance. Nowadays, though, you’re better off just practicing away from the table, as wearing sunglasses to the table is often a dead giveaway that you’re a newbie.
3. Don’t Twitch
Make And Keep A Poker Face
No, we’re not talking about Twitch, the online streaming platform. There are separate issues with streaming poker on Twitch.
We’re talking about actually making physical movements.
Your eyes are not the only body parts that can give you away. Your other body movements, as Joe Navarro, Mike Caro, and Zach Elwood would probably attest, are quite telling. Tapping your feet, scratching your head, biting your nails, picking your skin… all those sorts of behaviors typically belong to players who don’t tend to fare so well when playing live poker.
4. Have a Steady Voice
Even if you manage to keep your eyes and body still, and not reveal anything, your voice might still be an Achilles Heel at the poker table.
How so? Well, frankly, if you’re unable to keep the tone of your voice steady and neutral when you place your bets or avoid making changes in the tone of your voice, your opponents will take notice.
The best advice would be to try and keep calm and, especially if you’re nervous, speak only when needed in a steady tone of voice.
Aside from those four tips, we’re sure you could think of some other ones that’ll help you improve your poker face when playing live poker. Let us know some of them in the comments below.
Other Posts You'll Enjoy
- 17 Ways to Spot Online Poker Players at Live Poker Tables
In this special Cardplayer Lifestyle article we list 17 ways online poker players stick out among a crowd of live poker players. While not exactly…
- Is Streaming Online Poker on Twitch Worth the Security Risk?
These days, there's nothing in poker hotter than Twitch. The online streaming platform is attracting the biggest names in the game, including Daniel Negreanu, Jason…
- Sunglasses at the Poker Table
To wear or not to wear sunglasses at the poker table? That's the issue we discuss in this thought-provoking post. We'll also see what two…
- 3 Tips for a Safer Online Poker Game
If you're worried that playing poker online may expose you to an inordinate amount of risk as far as your online poker bankroll, there are…
- Webcam Poker - Online Poker Revolution?
This guest post on Cardplayer Lifestyle presents an overview on one of online poker's newest developments: webcam poker. Read more to learn the advantages and…
- Towards More Secure Online Poker
Everyone who plays online poker wants their experience and gameplay to be as secure as possible. As a computer security professional, I decided to take…
- Can Playing Online Poker Make You a Better Player?
In this guest post by the folks over at Sky Poker, we learn 3 important ways in which playing online poker, as opposed to live…
- 5 Important Tips for the Newly Minted Online Poker Player
It's common knowledge that there are lots of differences between playing poker online versus in a live setting. If, however, you're new to online poker,…
- PokerTek’s Poker Pro Automated Poker Tables
Do you like to play poker live but are frustrated with the slow speed of the game after getting used to multitabling online? If the…
Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Wikipedia.
poker face
n.poker face
npok′er face`
n.
| Noun | 1. | poker face - a face without any interpretable expression (as that of a good poker player) poker game, poker - any of various card games in which players bet that they hold the highest-ranking hand countenance, visage - the appearance conveyed by a person's face; 'a pleasant countenance'; 'a stern visage' |
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
Link to this page: