Just as Lady Gaga sings in her number one hit its all about the poker face! What is a poker face and why is a poker face so important? A poker face is the no emotion expression you should have on your face all through your poker game no matter what cards you are dealt. A poker face is vital in every game of poker because other players will play their hand differently based on your reactions to the cards. If you get dealt a really great hand and you are sitting their with a big grin on your face and shouting ‘wahey!’ then you opponents will know you have a good hand and will probably fold which means you won’t build up that much in the pot to win. On the other hand if you downplay your hand and pretend you have a rubbish hand your opponents will probably guess you are lying and call your bluff. The key to a poker face is that balance between where you don’t let anything go but give off different signals to keep the other players guessing.
Tips To Pull Off A Great Poker Face
Body and Face – even though it is called a poker face it should actually be called a poker all over body! Your body must be in sync with your face if you do not want to give the game away, pardon the pun. For example your face may be depicting a calm and cool mood but if you are fidgeting and moving around a lot your opponents will know you are nervous about the game and the hand. Keep your body as cool as you keep your face, don’t move around that much, don’t fidget, and stay relaxed.
Change Your Habits – good poker players will be watching you constantly to pick out your habits. They’ll be analyzing you and making mental notes of your every move and what these moves mean to your game. You may not know it yourself but you might hold your breath when you bluff, or you may tap your cards on the table when you have a good hand and so on. A great way to mess with the other poker players is to mix up your habits for different outcomes this will lead them off track and they won’t be able to guess your next move.
Practice makes Poker Perfect – obviously with each game of poker you play you can practice your poker face and poker body but you can also practice outside of games. Take out a mirror and see what you look like and try different faces and try keeping that face for a whole 10 minutes, or next time you go to the shops practice being completely cool and relaxed, or maybe next time you go to the bank and you are experiencing a little frustration keep your stance and remain calm, it’ll help you in your games no end.
