The Smiling Poker Face
I meet a lot of people. Some know me from the poker world. Most do not. Those who don’t play poker usually have one of three questions. “When am I going to see you on television”? “Do you bluff much”? and “Do you have a poker face”? Let me quickly answer the first two questions and devote most of this column to answering the last.
Television Appearances
My primary focus is not on tournaments, so I have no immediate plans to appear on television as a poker player. However, I typically participate in major tournaments playing 7-card stud or one of its variations. These are rarely aired on television. So, in the unlikely event that I entered one and finished in the final table, there’s very little chance I would be seen.
Bluffing in Poker
As to bluffing, it’s an important part of any serious poker player’s arsenal – and it is part of mine. But it’s too simplistic to think about bluffing a lot or bluffing little. I mix up my game, as all good players must, by mixing in all types of deception: slow plays, traps, bluffs, semi-bluffs, and even semi-demi-bluffs when appropriate. In some games, I use a lot of fantasy; in other games, hardly any. There are many columns I could write about how to use that deception appropriately and well. This column isn’t one of those.
The Importance of a Poker Face
As far as having a poker face, yes, I surely have one. The important question is why I have one and what it is.
Let’s start by looking at a poker face and how it’s best used. One of the first skills a poker player must learn to be successful is masking his automatic reaction to good and bad hands.
Reacting to Good and Bad Hands
So, for example, if a player on a board suddenly sees the appearance on the river, though he is naturally delighted to be holding a royal straight flush, he must not betray that joy. Lest his opponents, recognizing that his expression indicates the true value of his hand, take advantage of that revealed information and fold their lesser hands.
Inversely, to sharpen the point that is obvious to all but the rank beginner, if instead of hitting the ten of spades on the river, the pops up, giving our hero absolutely nothing, he would be a poor player indeed if he displayed his sorrow by frowning and shaking his head – as this would surely encourage others to take advantage of his failure by betting into him, knowing that he would surely fold.
Neutral Expression
Poker players, understanding this, adopt what is known as a “poker face” – an expression that transmits neither joy nor sorrow regardless of what they hold.
Choosing Your Poker Face
This is so universally known among poker players and non-players alike that hardly any poker players who play for any serious money exhibit a reaction that so obviously communicates his true joy or sorrow (unless he tries to mask his true response by doing the opposite of what he thinks betrays his hand – acting weak when he is strong for example – but that’s an article for another day). His responses are usually so subtle that he doesn’t know he’s reacting publicly. Most of us learn early on to have the same expression on our faces no matter our true reaction to our hands.
For me, the important question is not so much whether our expression should be non-responsive – since most poker players already know to be non-responsive. It’s what sort of an expression we should each adopt as our typical expression at the table.
Different Poker Faces and Their Impact
Some players adopt the sad, grim look of a person engaged in a serious endeavor. They look stern and gloomy, intimidating and off-putting. Some find adopting this expression as their “poker face” useful because they believe it projects a winning table image. They do this because it gives them a competitive advantage at their table to be seen as a winning player.
Visit a typical poker room; you can find many guys and women with this expression. “Don’t mess with me,” they seem to be saying with their scowl. “I’m a tough poker player.” It is an expression that most people, I would guess, think of as the best expression to have. They want to project to the rest of the poker world the kind of poker player they would most like to be – tough, serious, no-nonsense.
To their credit, this is the standard expression a winning person adopts in other endeavors. You learn to look confident when you compete if you are a golfer, swimmer, runner, boxer, golfer, or tennis player. There is a certain edge that projects the air of a winner gives you in nearly all competitive endeavors.
Maximizing Profit in Poker
But poker is very different. Think about this. In poker, where do your profits come from? If you’re like most winning players, you’re not making most of your money from the toughest players in the room. Those are the players who are most likely to take your money. Your profit comes from the worst players – those who are average or below average – the new, inexperienced amateurs who aren’t visiting the poker room to make money but to have a good time.
Attracting the Novice Players
Attracting novice players is akin to nurturing a garden of potential in poker. Novices are the lifeblood of the poker ecosystem, and their willingness to join the game is a testament to its enduring appeal. To draw them in, seasoned players must cast aside intimidating facades and don the cloak of approachability. The secret to creating a thriving poker table is a warm, inviting atmosphere where even the most inexperienced feel at ease. Ultimately, it’s not about exploiting their inexperience but sharing the joy of the game, ensuring that poker remains a welcoming haven for players of all levels.
Luring Inexperienced Players
So, how do you maximize your profit? You play your best game, of course. That practically goes without saying. But when it comes to selecting your opponents, whom would you pick, the tough-wizened veterans you’re trying to emulate or the novice and rookie players who are just down in the casino to have a good time and gamble it up?
Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere
If you’re smart, you’ll look for the rookies and other fish likelier to be loose and easy with their money. You want them to play with you. So, how best to lure them into your game? With a serious, no-nonsense, stern, somber expression? Of course not!
The Friendly Poker Face
You want these helpless souls to feel welcome and relaxed sitting next to you because you wouldn’t hurt a fly. You want them to think you’re just like them – just there to have a good time, gamble it up, and meet interesting poker players.
Warmth and Friendship
Similarly, once a bad player sits down with you, how do you want them to feel once they do so? Do you want them to be intimidated by your serious expression? Do you want to risk having them run away or become so fearful of your terrifying table presence that they shrink into their shell, take no chances, and fold all but their monster hands? Certainly not!
Ideal Poker Face
You want to make the bad players feel as comfortable sitting with you as possible. And then, when they’re at your table, you want to relax them further by continuing to exhibit the behavior of someone playing to amuse himself, not to make money. Given a choice, you want to look clueless, not skillful, playful, and not serious. You want to be the player the bad player will enjoy playing with, even if he loses his money.
The Winning Poker Smile
How do you do that? You become the friendly, playful, happy guy this fish won’t be intimidated by. You act in a way that communicates warmth and friendship. If you’re smart, you’ll do what I do. Your poker face will be a smile.
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