Hiding Tells

by Cheyenne on July 4th, 2012

Do you ever acquire that itch? The itch to wager, to head to the closest gambling den, to come across a great stakes game of Hold em, to sit at a Chemin de fer table for hours on end. I really like that itch. And I like to scratch it.

I also love to watch folks bet. No two poker faces seem identical. When I gamble I like to feel I put on a poker face that is impenetrable. Except I know I’ve certain personal habits. For one, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I wager on poker or Chemin de fer. And then I chain smoke. Except I chain smoke no matter if I am succeeding or losing, whether I’ve a very good hand or bad.

I once bet in the weekly poker game. The game was usually 5 card draw. There was a guy who bet with us just about every week who constantly wore a hat. When he was given a great hand, unconsciously, he would start touching and playing with his hat. Needless to say, he by no means won.

The greatest poker player I ever saw was a person who made additional movements and signals at a poker table than anyone I had ever seen. He was impressive in the way he dressed. Always an costly suit and tie, shoes shined and nails trimmed. He was fastidious in this manner. And he was usually brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or putting his chips in tidy little piles.

I use to examine him for long periods of time. I would tried to see if I could notice his tell. Selecting lint off his vest- did this mean he was bluffing? Stacking his chips in a short pile – did this mean he had a very good hand?

Many years later I ran into him in the bar in Vegas and we had a beer. I asked him if he were aware of all those actions he made or if they were unconscious. He informed me that each little thing he did at a poker table was intentional. He said that everyone is often checking out everybody else’s poker face. They are attempting to detect the the tell.

So his technique was to provide them lots to believe about. His thinking was if they were thinking about him choosing a piece of lint off his shirt and what it meant they positive were not thinking about their cards.

His technique was diversion. And it worked for him. Never give up a process that functions for you.

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