A twitching muscle, a pursed mouth, an eye immobile except for the rapid nervous pulse of a lid – if a few of your senses, at the table, work together as one, and you can see it coming, then a little of the spirit of a poker player might be yours… When your odds look good, bet big; when you think you’re bluffing, bet big. Most of these players, despite the down-to-earth, ballplayer-family-farmer-mild-strength-of-the-Backwoods-USA NYC Bronx-South-Bronx air they affect, aren’t sharp – they’re not really playing at all, they’re hoping, they wouldn’t know how to play if they wanted to.
But the OK Corral that starts up at two or three in the morning with seven or eight tables running is playing for thousands – you must play; to win you must play to win; playing is an eye, a touch, a breath of spirit.And there’s something else, a ray of moon out of nowhere you can reach out to grab, something that happens the moment before it happens, or a little before that: when you start paying close attention, you begin to read the other players better, and maybe they are cold, maybe they are scared, maybe they are hoping too, there could be a little twitch of muscle along one jaw, a twisting of the mouth, an eye that suddenly doesn’t turn, or opens to see something the impulse of the involuntary thought waves to the rear brain to translate as the rhythmic pulse of a lid, the blink of hope: read ’em and weep.If you do, maybe you get a little edge that puts a three per cent spin on your chip from time to time, your chances double every ten minutes, there’s a point where people can’t stop on their own, they are doomed, it’s automatic bluff, it’s read ’em and reap.
There is a lot to be learned about how to read people to the point where you can pick up on little tells of nervous fidgeting or tissue pulling and tentative bet sizing before they even realise they are doing it – all of which takes practice.
Body language
The psychological component of poker – understanding how your mind and emotions, but also your opponent’s, work – forms the most important element of succeeding at the table, as it will not only allow you to see more tells and exploit them better and more consistently but also to steer clear of the various mental traps that turn wannabe pros into losers, such as tilt.
Perceiving and interpreting the subtle body language of your opponent at the poker table is important because their hand movements and expressions can tell you a lot about how they feel about their hand in that moment; for instance, a rapid and singular move of the hands can indicate excitement and anticipation, whereas tight lips and/or furrowed brows, can illustrate uncertainty or weakness of hand.
Part of the poker psychology is that understanding that luck is a major part of every game. Whether it was the big pot you struck for, the bad beat you took, or if for no reason you can fathom last night you were playing bad, the luck from each one of that can dictate your future decisions affecting your next bankroll. So, simply put: recognise it and play your part in this scenario. That is part of poker psychology and you need to master it if you don’t want the bad runs affecting you. When that happens to you, you mustn’t lose your control and that is a key point.
Eye movements
Some might be ‘recreational players’ who are fine with throwing money at the table while others are ‘hardcore nits’ who won’t budge on a single chip. Each poker player has a unique personality – you can tell from their body language or by how they make decisions. Knowing these types and the psychology of poker will give you the edge over your opponent.
One common body gesture that players use to see if an opponent is bluffing is staring often at the hands of their opponent to determine if he/she is. Cross arms to protect from perceived bad luck or bad play.
Along the way, poker players learn how to manage their own feelings, particularly how to avoid tilt – lapses into emotional states where negative feelings interfere with good decision-making. Sometimes this is difficult, but, at its best, poker takes strength of character and requires us to keep disappointment far away from the game.
Bets
Poker is, ultimately, ceaselessly compelling because it’s a fascinating game of strategy, good thinking and psychological manoeuvring – and it seems to need, for maximum effect, an excellent understanding of what your opponents are doing (and openings you’re giving them) alongside high-enough skill at observing opponents and empathy to read you well – this is an essential skill on your part to be able to look at others and ‘see why they might have made such a move, and what they think of you to make that call’ in order to be a good observer yourself.
Tells are physical markers of strength of hand, and a shrewd poker player reads them carefully, using them where she can to best advantage.
Another frequent poker tell indicates frustration, anger or something similar. The player is tilting and is more likely to make a bad decision tilting may be caused by bad beats, extraneous factors, or other factors unrelated to poker play: learn to recognise these as early as possible, and to do your best not to allow yourself to tilt again once the tilt attack is underway.
Bluffing
Professional poker players are adept at shaping their opponents’ perceptions in order to advance their interests – through tells, for example – and by generally affecting individuals’ behaviour in ways that lead them to make expensive mistakes, the very mistakes that are central elements of a winning hand strategy. This is one recipe for success at professional poker tables.
Bluffing is a hugely complex game featuring a combination of psychology, mathematics and game knowledge. It takes good timing – reading opponents and their betting patterns. A sharp eye for changes in a commonly three-bet shoving player’s bet sizing might indicate weakness in the hand, while someone who tends to call despite being busted (called a ‘calling station’) might be riper for the plucking than someone who is more likely to fold to a raise.
Timing too is important in any successful bluffing strategy: poor timing or too much confidence could backfire; on the other hand, too little confidence makes for risky play and loss of funds. Confidence can be useful and it can be counterproductive. An appropriate dose could encourage respect, intimidation, and tilt the probabilities in your favour, but too much makes you seem weak and dishonest.