Poker is a fascinating game. Mostly dependent on luck but very much on skill as well, it calls for a great deal of thorough thinking and processing the chances that one has to win the game. What makes a good poker player, is his/her ability to read the game well. How can you read the game, is by simply observing other players' body cues.
What then easily gives a person away, when he/she bluffs is the movement of the eyes, otherwise known as oculesics. Our eyes are often the most telling when we are lying and they will tend to blink or dart when we lie. As such, many poker players wear shades to conceal their eyes, as shown in on the left in the picture above.
Another interesting fact about poker players, is that many have small little lucky charms which they place on top of the chips pile or their cards. Picture on the top right shows such an example (click on the picture for a larger view). This is known as objectics or artifacts. By using these lucky charms, which are basically personal objects, you show people that you believe in certain associations of luck and that particular object.
What then easily gives a person away, when he/she bluffs is the movement of the eyes, otherwise known as oculesics. Our eyes are often the most telling when we are lying and they will tend to blink or dart when we lie. As such, many poker players wear shades to conceal their eyes, as shown in on the left in the picture above.
Another interesting fact about poker players, is that many have small little lucky charms which they place on top of the chips pile or their cards. Picture on the top right shows such an example (click on the picture for a larger view). This is known as objectics or artifacts. By using these lucky charms, which are basically personal objects, you show people that you believe in certain associations of luck and that particular object.
photo of Phil Ivey, by pokerwirePhil Ivey, 5 times World Series of Poker champion, is well known for his composure. Even if the pot has in excess of over a million dollars, his eyes will just be staring blankly in front as shown by the picture. Opponents can hardly read him and that makes him a truly great player.
So, in times of nervousness, do you exhibit affect displays, tensing up and all, or remain calm no matter the circumstances? Do you have any special objects that you place on the table or wear special garments when you play games of chance? You may not realise it, but all these certainly say a lot about you!
So, in times of nervousness, do you exhibit affect displays, tensing up and all, or remain calm no matter the circumstances? Do you have any special objects that you place on the table or wear special garments when you play games of chance? You may not realise it, but all these certainly say a lot about you!
15 comments:
so Ronan Keating sum up the art of non-verbal communication: 'you say it best, when you say nothing at all'.
being an avid poker fan yourself, you have chosen to play this game in the online realm, where facial expressions and natural body actions are non existent. in your case, how do you read your opponent?
Well i do enjoy the game alot too. apart from having your own style of play. u need to really possess a poker face. sometimes. the behavior of other people give away the cards they have.
I agree with zed about the ONLINE REALM. interesting how u can still read people online even though facial expressions dun play a part.
yes indeed. half the fun is taken away where online play is concerned, the skill of observing your opponents is actually what makes poker such a challenging game. the only way to read opponents online then, is by staying for a few hands and trying to decipher their patterns of play. do they always call stone cold bluffs? or do they only call with genuine good hands? another challenge altogther, but no doubt not as fun as the real game at the table.
Okay, even though Ronan Keating is not a singer of my time, i have to agree with that line.
We express ourselves non-verbally even when we are unaware of it ourselves. That is when people are able to "read our minds" if they are observant enough. But i didn't know that people are able to win big bucks by concealing their expressions and thus, not letting their opponents know their stakes. So, a very informative and eye-opening post i must say!
I find it hard to be calm and composed when playing games of chance such as blackjack(21).
Therefore i adopt the constipated look through out the game..even when i am holding good cards or lousy cards..I maintain that expression..its much easier to act kanchiong than cool.
I am one of those who place faith on objectics.Placing my lucky One Dollar Note on the table when i am playing big bets seems to of some comfort. Do i win all the bets with my lucky note? the answer is NO, but do i still use my lucky note? yes! i wonder what that is called..
I actually cant lie for nuts. i swear I'll be a horrible poker player. And i lose at the card game Bluff all the time.
Body language seems like such a natural thing, and people are so suprisingly good and telling from just minor body language if you are lying.
I think the best way to act or lie is to convince yourself of it =p
I am not good at Bluff either. That is because I cannot lie properly and I am too polite to accuse others of lying.
I often try to read the opponent in Chess competitions. You can tell if you took the opponent by surprise by the expression on his face. How roughly he handles his pieces may indicate whether he is an aggressive player.
I am not sure whether in Chess, reading the opponent works just as well as in Poker.
Very interesting. I think body movements and these subtle non verbal hints are so crucial in every day life. You pointed out the game of poker. Something i cant relate to as i have no idea how it works, but observing from the comments bluff seems to be an ideal comparison. Well bluff, i love the game because it involves the act of deceit, i am not implying i am deceitful. But its amazing to see how people perceive slight body movements or the rapis twitching in an eye to something like, oh this fella is getting pretty fidgety, something up his sleeve im sure.
To try and guess his bluff, or are his actions just a way to con you into believing his bluff.
Amazing i say. How these non-verbal cues work.
Poker is all about observing the non-verbal communication every other player exhibits. The trick is in analyzing body language and being able to discern what is "unusual" when he or she bluffs/is telling the truth. I feel it is really diffiult though, as there is a tendency to over-analyze sometimes and read things that aren't really there. How do you know if the opponent isn't just pretending to be nervous, and trick you into thinking he's bluffing? One thing's for sure, this is the most legendary card game to ever have come about.
This game must have been invented by a maniac. How else would it have developed to become one of the most confusing gambling games ever - because it is so difficult to judge complex humans. You wouldn't know if the non-verbal cues you are witnessing are made on purpose or if they are truly a genuine slip. But then again it may be because I don't have good instincts that I don't like playing this game - I always lose. T__T
I wonder if you are good at bluffing at the table, whether you are a smooth liar in real life as well. How else would you have developed the ability to mask your emotions so well for an extended period of time (the duration of the game). It's an interesting notion. Someone should do a study on it.
I guess the reason why some of them are wearing their ear piece on is also due to the fact that they do not want to be affected by what the others have to say. This may have an effect in his decision making and judgment skills.
I do agree that our eyes is the most prominent factor which would betray us when we lie. It is one non-verbal cue which everybody could spot easily and accurately.
However, there are certain poeple who have intentionally use their eyes to give themselves away for a greater purpose.
But doing that is actually quite shrewd. So, I would definitely prefer someone like the poker king to just continue to stare blankly to remain his cool.
similar to tburn, when i play blackjack, i use to play around with my money and form funny formations and hopefully attracting luck. I think that's part of the fun in the game too but i guess its totally useless as i dont see professionals making formations or doing anything special to their chips during competitions.
Having watched the WSOP over the past 3 years, these trends are familiar, and as the camera moves in and focuses on different players, you notice that each player be it consciously or unconciously, gives a certain aura which gives us a hint of what hand they might have. Be it, flipping chips, leaning back on the chair, seemingly harmless movements, but tells us something about each individual.
However, there are also some actions that others undertake to distract others from the table, so that one might not particularly pay attention to you. 2 such examples are poker stars Hevad Kahn and Humberto Brenes.
Brenes is a good example of what I would say, makes good use of his "objectics". His card holders are 2 shark flashlights, and he always amuses me with those 2 card holders, saying that he's gonna "eat" the pot.
Hevad Kahn, has a personality that really eats into some people as he is loud and boisterous most of the time. This results in certain players being irritated, and might disregard Kahn's other movements, which would otherwise reveal his potential hand.
The players I have used as examples above are poker stars that have been playing for a long time, be it online or face to face poker. This probably has given them time to train and be able to read people better. Word has it that Hevad Kahn plays 32 hands of online poker simultaneously, and coming out in the green @ the end. Go figure.
This tells me that one is able to conceal your expressions over time, and if one has enough practice, who knows? You might just become the next WSOP bracelet winner! (If you go to vegas to play that is....)
i have never played poker but i do believe blank stares are really hard to master, because sometimes you just want to grin in excitement or even curse when you get a bad card!
to answer your question, i think it's hard to remain calm when you're nervous, no matter how hard you try! for me, what i do when i'm nervous is probably to bite my lips, or peel my nails. i can appear really calm on the outside, but if you see me peeling my nails or fidgeting, you know i'm stressed. haha.
Poker is a great example to illustrate non-verbal communication. Another thing which poker players like to do is to listen to music, so they would not be distracted by others or give others a clue to what they are thinking. By blocking out non-verbals cues which players can make judgements on, the competition gets tougher.
Post a Comment