How to Hide Your Poker Tells
Poker is a game that thrives on deception. Good poker players should do their best to hide their “poker tells,” i.e. the behaviors that subconsciously indicate their cards or intentions to other players who are good at reading people. Here are some tips and tricks you can use to mask your real situation from crafty opponents.
To begin with, accessorize. Some headgear or a cool pair of shades can help you hide your facial expressions. There is absolutely no shame in adopting this tactic. In fact, a lot of poker champions do it, too, such as Stu Ungar, one of poker’s all-time greats. You may, however, want to avoid the garish orange visor worn by Eric Seidel during his appearance in the movie Rounders.
Also, try listening to music on a small portable device like an mp3 player as you go about your game. The right music can keep you alert but relaxed, even in very tense situations. If you like, you can search online for poker playlists recommended by experienced players. On the other hand, your own response to the recommended songs might be quite different from that of the person who actually drew up the list. Your own unique taste is ultimately the best guide.
In addition, try to refrain from chatting with other players too much. Of course, some polite, friendly banter is good. It helps to maintain an amiable atmosphere. However, the content and tone of your speech might be more revealing than you realize. You need not be silent as a rock, but being a chatterbox is not great for your game, either. Besides all that, too much chatter can slow down a game, or make players who are not part of the conversation feel left out.
If possible, try inventing fake poker tells for yourself. Scratch your thigh, tap your foot, etc. Make sure you can do these gestures in a natural, seemingly unconscious manner. Then confuse your opponents by employing these mannerisms at random throughout the game.
For very experienced BurnPoker players, one’s own cash or chips can be used as a tactic to hide poker tells. In other words, make your betting decisions have very little connection to what you actually have. This can confuse opponents, but it can backfire all too easily. We repeat, this particular tactic is recommended only for very experienced (and better yet, very rich) players.
Then again, you might prefer to just cut to the chase and try to make poker tells quite irrelevant. The way to do this is to play online. Of course, your fellow players will not be able to see or hear you, so you may be as transparent as you please. However, do keep in mind that online play carries its own set of risks, such as the worry that your opponents may not be human at all. Rumors abound concerning so-called poker bots, programs that find, join, and play poker games while masquerading as human beings.
Some players probably wish that they could be like poker bots at live games: emotionless, calculating machines. Still, it must be remembered that one of the great things about poker is that it allows a great deal of personal expression and artistry. Hiding your tells is great, but don’t forget to have fun and maximize your game experience, as well.