Gambling isn’t just a game of strategies and luck; it is a game of wits, too! You can’t just learn all the tips and tricks needed for a game and get a guaranteed win all the time. With poker, especially, you not only need to know the game rules, tricks and strategies but also need to engage in mind games with your competitors at the table.
There are many ways to distract your opponent in a game and get them off their game, such as telling them interesting stories, talking about the game, calling out the odds, placing strange bets, etc. In poker, the best way to keep your opponents from figuring out how good or bad your hand is to keep a poker face.
The poker face requires you to keep a straight face and not give out any hints about what’s going on in your head. If people are able to figure out the strength or the weakness of your hand through your expressions, it will go against you.
You can learn more about making a poker face by going through the following three points and keeping a check on them the next time you’re at a poker table.
Eyebrows and lips
It is often found that when one receives their cards, they read it to themselves. However, there are quite a handful of people who, unknowingly, read out the words without making a sound. This is a big, big mistake and has been identified as one of the biggest reasons for people losing strong hands.
You must never forget that your opponent is looking out for the first movement you make after receiving your cards and your expressions that follow. These factors can help any competitor determine the strength or weakness of your hand.
Furthermore, opponents aren’t just looking out to read your lips, but also keep an eye for a flick of the eyebrow. At times, while people keep in mind not to read the cards to themselves, they often end up raising their eyebrows when something significant happens. For instance, if your opponent sees you raising your eyebrow, they might think that you either have an amazing hand or a completely useless one.
Therefore, as the first tip, keep a check on your eyebrows and lips.
Breathing Pattern
The way you breathe speaks a lot about what’s going on in your head. Whenever a person is excited or on edge, you can notice them taking short breaths. On the contrary, when someone is not feeling up to it, they might just lay back and take really long breaths.
However, if you want to be good at poker, this is an aspect you must master.
Giving away your excitement through changed breathing patterns, in case you get a good hand, is inarguably a loss for you. However, if you can control your breathing and use it to your advantage by acting differently than your actual cards, you can trick a ton of people at the table.
Just make sure not to overdo it!
Touching and tics
When you’re at a poker table, you need to know that all your movements are being watched. People won’t just be keeping an eye on your eyes, lips and breathing patterns but also on what you do otherwise.
Touching your ears or nose too many times gives out the signs of being nervous or unsure about something. This type of restlessness might be observed and identified as a good or a bad hand, which, if calculated accurately, would help your opponents win.
Constantly itching, rubbing your fingers, or shuffling your cards might also present you as a nervous person, who is either nervous about losing with his weak hand or restless about the next move others would make. Therefore, you need to practice sitting still without giving out hints about your hand. You can always try out live mobile casinos and practice your strategies while trying to maintain a poker face as well.
Conclusion
The poker face is just you attempting to maintain a straight face that shows no sign of feelings or emotions and looks completely blank. The points mentioned above are guaranteed to help you maintain one and help you win more hands while you’re out for poker next time.
