Hiding Tells
Do you ever have that itch? The itch to bet, to head to the closest gambling house, to find a high stakes game of Texas hold’em, to sit at a Pontoon table for hours on end. I love that itch. And I like to scratch it.
I also like to watch folks wager. No two poker faces seem alike. When I gamble I like to assume I put on a poker face which is impassable. Except I know I’ve certain gestures. For one, the only time I smoke is when I wager on poker or Chemin de fer. And then I smoke. Except I chain smoke whether or not I am succeeding or losing, whether I have a great hand or bad.
I once played in a very weekly poker game. The game was always five card draw. There was a man who wagered with us just about every week who always wore a hat. When he was dealt a very good hand, unconsciously, he would start touching and wagering with his hat. Pointless to say, he by no means won.
The greatest poker gambler I ever saw was a player who produced more movements and signals at a poker table than anybody I had ever seen. He was flawless in the way he dressed. Generally an expensive suit and tie, boots shined and nails manicured. He was meticulous in this manner. And he was often brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or putting his chips in neat little piles.
I use to study him for hours. I would tried to see if I could notice his tell. Picking fuzz off his shirt- did this imply he was bluffing? Arranging his chips within a short pile – did this mean he had a beneficial hand?
Several years later I ran into him in a very bar in Vegas and we had a drink. I asked him if he were aware of all those actions he produced or if they had been unconscious. He told me that just about every single thing he did at a poker table was intentional. He said that everybody is often checking out everybody else’s poker face. They’re trying to spot the the tell.
So his technique was to provide them lots to believe about. His reasoning was if they have been thinking about him choosing a piece of lint off his vest and what it meant they sure were not thinking about their cards.
His process was diversion. And it worked for him. By no means give up a system that operates for you.
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