How To Have A Better Poker Face

By Neil Connolly, in Sport · 29-05-2020 01:00:00 · 0 Comments
  • 'Poker Face' is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her debut studio album, The Fame (2008). It was released on September 26, 2008, as the album's second single. 'Poker Face' is a synth-pop song in the key of G ♯ minor, following in the footsteps of her previous single 'Just Dance', but with a darker musical tone.
  • Following are the full rules. If you want to know only how Face Up Pai Gow poker differs from conventional pai gow poker, then you can skip over the rules. A single 53-card deck is used, consisting of the usual 52 cards, plus one joker. The joker is semi-wild. It may be used as an ace, or to complete a straight, flush, straight flush or royal.

Before I start a lesson with a new client, I always ask them what they’ve done in the past that they feel that they are very good at, in order to get an idea of how good their processes are in other areas of their lives.

Because once I find out where some of the talents actually lie, I can relate what they’ve done in the past to similarities in golf. For example, if somebody has a history of success in tennis, they clearly have good hand eye coordination. If somebody is a talented surfer, they have great balance and normally great core strength. Or, if the player has had success in business they understand that nothing happens immediately and their success is directly related to the amount of hard work they’ve put in over the years.
Last week, to give you an idea of the varied work histories my players walk into the studio with, I asked the normal question, “so is there anything that you’ve done in your past or are doing currently which you are good at?” And received the answer: “I’m a professional poker player.”
Due to the face mask I was wearing he probably missed the smile behind it. He then admitted that a poker game will generally last for about 12 hours. During those 12 hours he has to; analyse everything that’s going on around him, assess the risk and reward of playing a certain hand, show absolutely no emotion, and keep his energy levels and concentration at a very high level for these 12 hours. I immediately knew this beginner golfer had a lot of the mental attributes to be successful at golf.
We just have to get him swinging the golf club in a way in which he can control the ball. Now I know that that last sentence sounds like exactly what every other golfer needs to be able to do, but bear in mind my professional poker player understands how to play the “long game”, not how to move the ball a long way but how to, over a long period of time, be successful through strategic behaviour.

Master The Rules You can’t have a good poker face if you don’t thoroughly understand poker rules. Spend some time on researching and observing before you join in on a game. This may mean showing up at poker night- and merely watching others gamble.

In addition to the above tradecraft similarities between golf and poker, he also understands how to commit to a hand, he knows when to go ‘all in’ and more importantly when not to. So, if I can coach him how to assess risk, take on only shots with which he has a 50 percent chance of success then he will have a very strong mental game to use whilst on the golf course.
Which is really fascinating when you consider that both elements of the game, technical and tactical, are completely different skill sets yet one needs the other or, to take it further, is totally dependent on the other. You never see a great technique and a poor mental game succeed and you also never see a poor technique and great mental game succeed. They’re totally linked whilst being independent of each other.
The amount of times I see a good golfer lose their temper on the golf course and then bogey the hole when they could have quite easily made par, and then compound that error furthermore by trying harder or pressing too hard or pressing too much on the next hole to make up for their mistake, which normally ends badly.
HowClearly if you’re going to be a good poker player you have to be able to control your emotions, be they either excitement or disappointment, so that nobody at the table can read the cards you have in front of you. Some people will be better at it because of the personalities they were born with, but a lot of this skill to control your emotions comes from training. And that training is easy to deliver these days, if you have been trained to coach in this area.

How To Have A Better Poker Face At Work

If you feel this is an area you require some attention in, that you find it difficult to maintain an optimum performance state, then have a think.
If you feel I’m talking to you directly then give us a call at Golf Integrated Academy on 912 263 555.

What is Poker Face?

Before I begin to tell the different ways to maintain a poker face, you must know, what is a poker face first. Poker Face is nothing but face having no expressions or a face which doesn’t reveal anything that the opponents can take advantage off. By having a poker face the opponents will have a hard time reading us. By doing so, the opponents will have no clue of what you have, i.e, either a good hand or a bad hand. Also, it is important to maintain a poker face when you bluff, to pretend you really have a good hand that might defeat an opponent, but in reality, it is the opposite.

Now, remember that the poker face is only applicable when playing offline tournaments or games, i.e When certain players play the game together on a table. But, when poker is played online where no other players are present, poker face is out of the question and doesn’t matter. You have the freedom to shout at the top of your lungs or laugh since no other player is present at your place.

Coming back to the topic, having a good Poker face becomes crucial at some stages and it is really wise to learn the different ways for maintaining a good poker face. Let’s get straight into the different ways to maintain a poker face.

Different ways to maintain a Poker Face are as follows:

1. Positive Body Language

Body language becomes very important when poker is played since the other players watch you closely how you play and if you, as a player give away anything regarding your cards through your body language, to the other players, then it is going to be a problem for you to win that hand.

Now there are many ways in order to maintain a neutral Body Language and one of them is by not looking at the opponents. What generally happens is, when a player looks at the opponent’s face, they tend to give away the hand by becoming a bit nervous. Now, if you can stay calm even when watching an opponent, then I’m not stopping you to look other players face. This can actually create a pressure to the opponent thinking that you have a good hand and you might end up winning that hand.

Now, the other method for maintaining a positive body language is not to move around too much, and also it is very important for you to keep both of your hands placed on the table, and not giving up anything. Make the opponents think hard for your cards instead of giving the hand by yourself.

2. Cover your face

Another way to maintain the poker face is to cover your face. There are different ways players can cover their face. One of them is by covering your eyes through Sun Glasses. Eyes become one of the main factors for maintaining a poker face since you can express a lot through your eyes and covering your eyes can help you prevent from showing any emotions to the opponents. Now, once you play a lot of hands you’ll be able to control your emotions more frequently and covering your eyes isn’t required. But, if your still a beginner then it is best for you to wear sunglasses and cover your face.

Now the other option to cover your face is by covering your face by a cloth or by wearing a pullover so that you can cover your face. This will help you hide your emotions and will make the opponents guess your hand. Again, this becomes optional once you play a lot of hands and get used to controlling your emotions easily.

How To Have A Better Poker Face

3. Don’t talk with other players

Now, this is optional for some players who are really good at manipulating at talking. The players who are good at manipulating make the opponents think exactly what you want them to think and trick them. Talking can help you immensely if know exactly what to talk and when to talk. But, please keep in mind this can backfire in a big way. Some players know exactly what you’re doing and will not even listen to what you’re talking.

In this video, Daniel Negreanu talks and tries to distract Antonio Esfandiari, but it backfires to him. Thankfully, luck was on Daniel’s side and he won that hand anyway, but you might not be as lucky as him always and might have lost that hand.

Now keep in mind, Poker is all in the mind. It’s completely related to how you think and act at that moment. So, for players who are not comfortable talking, do not to talk to other players who try to get to your emotions during crux moments. Just don’t reply to them, keep silent and don’t even look at other players who are talking. This way you won’t give away anything, and the opponent usually gives up gaining nothing.

How To Have A Better Poker Face

4. Control Your Emotions

Emotion plays a huge role in maintaining a poker a face. Research suggests that you tend to lose more than win when you lose control of your emotions. It is always better not to play poker when you’re not feeling yourself.

It generally becomes hard to maintain a poker face when you lose control of your emotions. You tend to give out more clues to your opponents with what cards you might have. This is pretty common while playing poker. Most of the players show emotions when they lose hands which they shouldn’t have lost to. But, it is important that for the next hand, you become yourself again by not thinking of the previous hand you lost. This is where it separates Professional players to the amateurs.

Professional Players know how to keep in check of their emotions. This is one of the reasons for their success. So, make sure you take control of your emotions.

5. Have Fun While Playing

At the end of the day, if you don’t enjoy playing poker, you tend to show more emotions and it will backfire you. So, make sure you enjoy the game. Be a part of every hand you play. Whether you lose a hand or win a hand doesn’t matter.

It is more important for you to enjoy the hands that you lost. Because we usually enjoy our winning hands anyways. But, nobody enjoys losing. But it is important to take note that losing is a part of the game. But a tournament is not about losing 1 hand. It is how you win in the long run. So, have fun while playing.

These were some of the ways you can maintain a poker face. Hope this guide helps!

Popular FAQ’s

What is Poker Face?

Poker face is a term used for maintaining a straight face in poker to not to give away anything to the opponent.

Is maintaining Poker Face important?

Yes, maintaining a poker face is very important while playing offline tournaments in a casino or other table games. It becomes a vital role in not revealing your cards to the opponents.

How To Have A Better Poker Facebook

Is maintaining poker face difficult?

It all depends on how you control your emotions at the table. If you are calm and don't overreact in certain situations, you'll be able to maintain a poker face.

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How To Have A Better Poker Face

I am the owner of the site rohithebbar.com. I love playing poker and other card games.

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