What is Poker Face?
Before I begin to tell the different ways to maintain a poker face, you must know, what is a poker face first. Poker Face is nothing but face having no expressions or a face which doesn't reveal anything that the opponents can take advantage off. By having a poker face the opponents will have a hard time reading us. By doing so, the opponents will have no clue of what you have, i.e, either a good hand or a bad hand. Also, it is important to maintain a poker face when you bluff, to pretend you really have a good hand that might defeat an opponent, but in reality, it is the opposite.
Now, remember that the poker face is only applicable when playing offline tournaments or games, i.e When certain players play the game together on a table. But, when poker is played online where no other players are present, poker face is out of the question and doesn't matter. You have the freedom to shout at the top of your lungs or laugh since no other player is present at your place.
Having a good poker face means not expressing positive or negative reactions to the game, keeping your body in a relaxed position, and calmly interacting with other players. This can become difficult when tensions are high but is necessary when playing the game. The fun in playing poker is winning. If poker players want to win, they'd better master the art of keeping poker faces. A poker face is one that shows no emotion. No joy at receiving a tremendous hand. No sadness when picking up a dreadful hand. Otherwise, the other players will know what kind of hand the player has, and fold or raise accordingly. If the player wants to win at poker. Because I have written books about poker tells, I've had many beginner-level players ask me for advice about tells and how they can get better at understanding them.
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Body language is crucial when playing poker. We have all heard of the terms regarding body language in poker such as a poker face and bluffing, but there are many other methods that one must utilize and internalize to gain an advantage. Everything from your posture to how you carry yourself to the way you're angling your body. A poker face, sometimes also called a 'blank expression' is a facial expression characterized by neutral positioning of the facial features, implying a lack of strong emotion. Having the ability to turn this facial expression on or off on demand will help you to become a better poker player.
Coming back to the topic, having a good Poker face becomes crucial at some stages and it is really wise to learn the different ways for maintaining a good poker face. Let's get straight into the different ways to maintain a poker face.
Different ways to maintain a Poker Face are as follows:
1. Positive Body Language
Body language becomes very important when poker is played since the other players watch you closely how you play and if you, as a player give away anything regarding your cards through your body language, to the other players, then it is going to be a problem for you to win that hand.
Now there are many ways in order to maintain a neutral Body Language and one of them is by not looking at the opponents. What generally happens is, when a player looks at the opponent's face, they tend to give away the hand by becoming a bit nervous. Now, if you can stay calm even when watching an opponent, then I'm not stopping you to look other players face. This can actually create a pressure to the opponent thinking that you have a good hand and you might end up winning that hand.
Now, the other method for maintaining a positive body language is not to move around too much, and also it is very important for you to keep both of your hands placed on the table, and not giving up anything. Make the opponents think hard for your cards instead of giving the hand by yourself.
2. Cover your face
Another way to maintain the poker face is to cover your face. There are different ways players can cover their face. One of them is by covering your eyes through Sun Glasses. Eyes become one of the main factors for maintaining a poker face since you can express a lot through your eyes and covering your eyes can help you prevent from showing any emotions to the opponents. Now, once you play a lot of hands you'll be able to control your emotions more frequently and covering your eyes isn't required. But, if your still a beginner then it is best for you to wear sunglasses and cover your face.
Now the other option to cover your face is by covering your face by a cloth or by wearing a pullover so that you can cover your face. This will help you hide your emotions and will make the opponents guess your hand. Again, this becomes optional once you play a lot of hands and get used to controlling your emotions easily.
3. Don't talk with other players
Now, this is optional for some players who are really good at manipulating at talking. The players who are good at manipulating make the opponents think exactly what you want them to think and trick them. Talking can help you immensely if know exactly what to talk and when to talk. But, please keep in mind this can backfire in a big way. Some players know exactly what you're doing and will not even listen to what you're talking.
In this video, Daniel Negreanu talks and tries to distract Antonio Esfandiari, but it backfires to him. Thankfully, luck was on Daniel's side and he won that hand anyway, but you might not be as lucky as him always and might have lost that hand.
Now keep in mind, Poker is all in the mind. It's completely related to how you think and act at that moment. So, for players who are not comfortable talking, do not to talk to other players who try to get to your emotions during crux moments. Just don't reply to them, keep silent and don't even look at other players who are talking. This way you won't give away anything, and the opponent usually gives up gaining nothing.
4. Control Your Emotions
Emotion plays a huge role in maintaining a poker a face. Research suggests that you tend to lose more than win when you lose control of your emotions. It is always better not to play poker when you're not feeling yourself.
Coming back to the topic, having a good Poker face becomes crucial at some stages and it is really wise to learn the different ways for maintaining a good poker face. Let's get straight into the different ways to maintain a poker face.
Different ways to maintain a Poker Face are as follows:
1. Positive Body Language
Body language becomes very important when poker is played since the other players watch you closely how you play and if you, as a player give away anything regarding your cards through your body language, to the other players, then it is going to be a problem for you to win that hand.
Now there are many ways in order to maintain a neutral Body Language and one of them is by not looking at the opponents. What generally happens is, when a player looks at the opponent's face, they tend to give away the hand by becoming a bit nervous. Now, if you can stay calm even when watching an opponent, then I'm not stopping you to look other players face. This can actually create a pressure to the opponent thinking that you have a good hand and you might end up winning that hand.
Now, the other method for maintaining a positive body language is not to move around too much, and also it is very important for you to keep both of your hands placed on the table, and not giving up anything. Make the opponents think hard for your cards instead of giving the hand by yourself.
2. Cover your face
Another way to maintain the poker face is to cover your face. There are different ways players can cover their face. One of them is by covering your eyes through Sun Glasses. Eyes become one of the main factors for maintaining a poker face since you can express a lot through your eyes and covering your eyes can help you prevent from showing any emotions to the opponents. Now, once you play a lot of hands you'll be able to control your emotions more frequently and covering your eyes isn't required. But, if your still a beginner then it is best for you to wear sunglasses and cover your face.
Now the other option to cover your face is by covering your face by a cloth or by wearing a pullover so that you can cover your face. This will help you hide your emotions and will make the opponents guess your hand. Again, this becomes optional once you play a lot of hands and get used to controlling your emotions easily.
3. Don't talk with other players
Now, this is optional for some players who are really good at manipulating at talking. The players who are good at manipulating make the opponents think exactly what you want them to think and trick them. Talking can help you immensely if know exactly what to talk and when to talk. But, please keep in mind this can backfire in a big way. Some players know exactly what you're doing and will not even listen to what you're talking.
In this video, Daniel Negreanu talks and tries to distract Antonio Esfandiari, but it backfires to him. Thankfully, luck was on Daniel's side and he won that hand anyway, but you might not be as lucky as him always and might have lost that hand.
Now keep in mind, Poker is all in the mind. It's completely related to how you think and act at that moment. So, for players who are not comfortable talking, do not to talk to other players who try to get to your emotions during crux moments. Just don't reply to them, keep silent and don't even look at other players who are talking. This way you won't give away anything, and the opponent usually gives up gaining nothing.
4. Control Your Emotions
Emotion plays a huge role in maintaining a poker a face. Research suggests that you tend to lose more than win when you lose control of your emotions. It is always better not to play poker when you're not feeling yourself.
It generally becomes hard to maintain a poker face when you lose control of your emotions. You tend to give out more clues to your opponents with what cards you might have. This is pretty common while playing poker. Most of the players show emotions when they lose hands which they shouldn't have lost to. But, it is important that for the next hand, you become yourself again by not thinking of the previous hand you lost. This is where it separates Professional players to the amateurs.
Professional Players know how to keep in check of their emotions. This is one of the reasons for their success. So, make sure you take control of your emotions.
5. Have Fun While Playing
At the end of the day, if you don't enjoy playing poker, you tend to show more emotions and it will backfire you. So, make sure you enjoy the game. Be a part of every hand you play. Whether you lose a hand or win a hand doesn't matter.
It is more important for you to enjoy the hands that you lost. Because we usually enjoy our winning hands anyways. But, nobody enjoys losing. But it is important to take note that losing is a part of the game. But a tournament is not about losing 1 hand. It is how you win in the long run. So, have fun while playing.
These were some of the ways you can maintain a poker face. Hope this guide helps!
Popular FAQ's
What is Poker Face?
Poker face is a term used for maintaining a straight face in poker to not to give away anything to the opponent.
Is maintaining Poker Face important?
Yes, maintaining a poker face is very important while playing offline tournaments in a casino or other table games. It becomes a vital role in not revealing your cards to the opponents.
Is maintaining poker face difficult?
It all depends on how you control your emotions at the table. If you are calm and don't overreact in certain situations, you'll be able to maintain a poker face.
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I am the owner of the site rohithebbar.com. I love playing poker and other card games.
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