Archive for the ‘Poker Psychology’ Category

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Your Poker Image and Which One You Should Keep

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Most poker players are totally unaware that they project an image at any given time during a game. They are either unaware that an image should be thoughtfully maintained or are attempting to project no image by keeping that “poker face.” Some actually believe that their hooded sweatshirt, shades and moody expression communicates nothing to the other players.

These players are not invisible and they will give out sufficient information for the experts to pounce on. Their very image of non-imageness will draw more highly skilled players towards them because the pros sense an amateur here. Not only that, but they may be frightening off the less skilled players, the very ones they want to profit from.

A neutral expression does not make you difficult to observe. Well-managed communication with opponents, if properly done, will give a much better result than holding on to that blank, wordless image. Blankness is undoubtedly a sign of frailty rather than robustness.

Any retreat from active involvement is always a weakness. These blank-faced players do not know that to the expert opponent they still have tells of some kind to divulge at some point or other during a game. They are human after all.

A non-serious player will look for a table where folks seem to be having fun. They will cruise around the room until they stumble upon the table with laughing friendly players gathered around. They are not looking for a serious game but for some fun and so a potential opponent’s skills are not a priority.

On the other hand, those that play poker as a profession are also looking for that table of good time Charlies. Nothing like a bunch of fun loving amateurs to whet the pros appetite for the game. The laughing amateur will linger at the table as long as he has having fun and may not even notice he is losing his shirt. He will not play with a bunch of non-communicative, somber zombies.

Sparkling conversation and a sense of fun in combination with compliments on others play will keep an amateur in a trusting frame of mind and keep him returning to that table again and again. They don’t play for an income or for the thrill of risk so they will not be upset by losing to an amusing opponent.

By keeping weaker opponents in a fun frame of mind, you encourage their high hopes of lady luck finding her way to them. Lady luck will visit occasionally and turn them into frequent players and attract still more fun-loving amateurs to the table. If you display a cold attitude, they will leave.

World class poker players are aware that they are always projecting an image and so are ever-mindful of just what that image is. Their images are calculated to protect their interests, not to scare people away. This calculated manipulation of the game, beyond superior technique and skill, allows them to create a positive environment for their heedless victims.

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What Poker Image to Maintain

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

It may be entirely beyond the average poker player that at any moment of the game he or she projects a specific image. Players are either unaware of the fact that an image had better be consciously maintained or trying to avoid projecting any image by assuming a sort of somberly inexpressive expression. Shielded behind shades and baseball cap, unsmiling, moodily silent, they believe that they thus “minimize” communication with the rest of the table.

But unless they completely disappear – did Welles’s invisible man play poker? – they will always project just enough information for good players to exploit. They are not only likely to attract other and better skilled silent scarecrows similar to themselves, but they are also likely to scare away those players who would otherwise constitute the bulk of their regular income.

To become utterly neutral is not the same as to become beyond observation. Active controlled communication with opponents, when managed correctly, is likely to yield much better result than a blank attitude. A blank attitude is most probably, in most cases, a sign of weakness rather than of sense or strength.

If it is a retreat from controlled active participation, it is always a weakness (the alternative is not hyperactivity, but balanced calculated manipulation). Moreover, these players probably do not suspect that for the skilled opponent they probably still have tells of one type or another somewhere about their inevitably, even if reluctantly, living breathing person.

Amateurs will for the most part prefer tables where they can have a good time. The successful businessman and the brilliant engineer, cruising around the room, are looking for a table where players are relaxed and friendly. They will look and listen for good times before they at all try to appraise potential partners’ actual poker skills, and are most likely to opt for those tables where people seem to enjoy themselves most.

For a player intending to earn a regular income it is important to be able to cater to these basic desires of the fun-loving amateur. A constant stream of amateurs is the wise professional’s regular income. A happy amateur is likely to stay longer at your table, dare more, bet higher, and loose more, more willingly. But the amateur is likely to leave a table full of Egyptian mummies.

A good conversation and a sense of humor combined with a slightly flattering play which keeps the amateur trusting he has a chance will increase the chances of that player coming back for more next time, perhaps even specifically seeking out your table. Since they do not play for the money or the excitement of high stakes, they will not regret as much having lost to an entertaining player.

Keep your weaker opponents in a good mood and you will keep up their good hopes, believing that luck may still take their side. Good time and occasional “luck” may turn them into regular players and into regular income and attract still more amateurs. But a show of cold indifference will only make them disgusted with themselves or the table or both.

Top professionals know that they always project an image and are always careful about what they project. They design the image according to the best of their interests, not to avoid contact. Their key to success lies not only in superior technique but often in the ability to create, through persona and ability to manipulate the game cleverly, situations which project a positive experience for their unsuspecting prey.

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A Definition of The Good and The Bad Qualities of Poker Players

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Once upon a time, a Soviet satirist of renown wrote a book satirizing a con man who set out to make some quick rubles.  He was able to convince a small town chess club that he was a traveling chess professional wanting to organize a tournament.  This went over big in the township and our man charged entry fees to those gathered about in eager anticipation to let the games begin.  He structured the tournament with “twelve identical matches” and began the play knowing very little to absolutely nothing about the game of chess, this being only his second attempt at it.  He managed to move the pieces around in a somewhat normal and convincing manner, greatly impressing the gathering who were awestruck by such a “professional” in their midst, reading glory into every play.  Alas, the maestro lost all twelve games, but maintained his good humor.  By the end, enough time had elapsed for him to run off with the fees he collected at the onset of the games.  So, while he didn’t know squat about chess, he came out a winner.

The Twelve Chairs is the title of the satiric novel.  It has been translated into English to become both a book and film adaptation on DVD readily available at Amazon.com.  A Mel Brooks comedy was the subject of the film and unless you are fanatical about Mel Brooks, stay clear of this one.  Mark Zaharov, a brilliant director, not as well known as his compatriot Tarkovsky, adapted it into a Russian mini-series in 1976.

At the heart of the satire is that a good player, poker or otherwise, can be defined by what his goal is.  The fictional con man of the satire was an effective chess player because his goal was to make some money and run, and he did just that.  In addition, he was ever so cognizant of his shortcomings as a chess player and structured a plan to play fast and get out with the money before the townsfolk were onto him.

A large group of poker players in this world are in denial as to their true poker prowess.  Egos can be very large in this game of bullying and risk taking.  They have never understood the delightful complexity of the game and spend no time in educating themselves as to its nuances and the skill required to play it successfully.  The fun of the game is its very complexity, and that it takes a lifetime to really learn it well, and even then new insights remain to be discovered.  The player that understands this will have a profitable career at the poker table.

Then there are those who play by rote, repeating a learned set of rules and strategies with no cognitive activity to gum up the works.  No point in improving because they win more than half of the time and are therefore good players – they have met their goal.

If one would look at poker as an art form, the above types of players do not cut the mustard as real players (we dare not call them bad players).  True they sit on the stage of the poker club, do their little act, but they are not stars.  The good poker player understands that the real joy of the game lies in learning its complexities and is eager to learn and to develop skills by experience at the table as well as reading the abundance of literature devoted to the game.  Poker is a game of skill, theater, perception and strategy.  The good player will be his own best critic and learn to emphasize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses to fully enjoy the game.

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What Are The Qualities of the Good Poker Player and the Bad Poker Player?

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

A very clever Soviet satire is written about a con artist set out to win a bunch of money from a small town chess club.  He convinces the avid members that he is a traveling master of the game and wishes to organize a tournament for the assembled group.  He, of course, charges an entrance fee from all the players and proceeds to play “twelve identical matches” without a clue as to what he is doing.  This is the second chess match he has ever played, but he manages to place the pieces somewhat correctly and makes his moves to the awe of those surrounding the board.  Like lots of folks when in the presence of greatness, they read a lot into the moves and pay close attention.  Soon after beginning the games, he loses all of them but still keeps his sense of humor.  The town is utterly amazed, but by then he has had the required time to run off with the entry fees.  So, our traveling maestro may be a lousy player, but he is a winning one.

The satire is titled The Twelve Chairs and has been translated into English and even a film adaptation on DVD available at Amazon.com.  Mel Brooks was featured in the first film adaptation, a comedy.  This was a very loose adaptation and for those of you are not Mel Brooks fanatics, it is best avoided.  See instead a Russian adaptation of a 1976 mini-series by that great Russian director, Mark Zaharov.  Though not as familiar a name as Tarkovsky, he is a directorial genius.

At the crux of the matter, a good player is defined, whether in poker or some other area of life, by his purpose.  The chess conman was a good player because he effectively used his wiles to achieve his goal of making a fast buck.  An important side story though is that he knew his skills well enough that he could not endure much scrutiny and had a plan for a hasty escape route.

There are numerous poker players out there who do not recognize their lack of ability.  Poker players are blessed with an overactive ego, possibly due to the riskiness of the game giving the players a certain bravura.  Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the good player, they didn’t get the concept that poker is a complicated, demanding game which requires education and hands-on experience to succeed at all.  For those who are clear on the concept, the game can be most profitable.

Some players play the game by rote and come out winners in the long run.  They do not see the game as an ever-enlightening process of learning and growing.  But they do win and if that is their purpose for playing the game, then they are good poker players.

For those players to whom poker is an art, the above types are not true poker players, not really bad, just not real.  They are in the clubs but are not the stars.  The good player is looking for growth and more and more insight to improve his already good game.  He or she understands that the game is a complicated mix of skill, theater, and perception.  They know their weaknesses and work hard on improving their good points while lessening their bad ones.

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Serious Poker is No Lure for Poker Fish

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Nothing keeps a poker amateur away from the table so much as the types regularly seen on TV’s World of Poker.  You know the types, they wear big shades, big hats, or big hooded sweatshirts completely shutting out all humanity.  They appear arrogant and intimidating and they are.  They keep anyone but players like them away from the table.

Generally speaking, the amateur is looking for a game among people as gregarious as he is.  For him, the game is not a way to make real money but a means to a few hours of fun in a social setting.  It may be someone escaping from the routine of the office, or a player tired of online poker and seeking that human touch.  They are looking for a table with a relaxed, congenial atmosphere and don’t care so much about winning or losing.  They are attracted to tables where people are enjoying each other.

The professional actually seeking to earn money at the game is going to love a table like that.  All those Fish!  Each one won’t donate a lot to his income, but they will steadily provide the pro with a stream of cash while enjoying the society of amiable people.  They will linger, make risky bets, and lose more while being entertained.

The intimidating table full of folks that don’t talk to each other, don’t look at each other and have created a somber atmosphere will keep the amateur far, far away.

The amateur is seeking the opposite of the above.  He wants good conversation, friendly company, and a table where the players compliment each other on good play.   This table engenders a feeling of warm fuzziness and trust for the amateur and will suck him right in.  They will return to this table again and happily lose money to you.  Remember they are seeking entertainment not an income.

The professional will keep these weaker players in a good mood and enjoying themselves while he fleeces them for as much as he can.  He will make them believe that luck is on their side and, of course, it will be occasionally, such is the nature of luck.  The pro will never emit signs of disgust or indifference.  He will not be arrogant or intimidating.  He also wants everyone to have a good time at his game.

This gregarious, relaxed persona is not necessarily born to the expert players.  They learn it along with the skills and techniques of the game and practice, practice, practice.  This allows them to manipulate situations to their advantage while projecting a very positive and entertaining experience for the little fishies that took their bait.  And, the fishies will thank them for providing them with such an entertaining time at the table.

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Attract More Poker Fish With a More Amiable Poker Game

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

Those serious, arrogant poker professionals gathered around the table in big shades and hooded sweatshirts are out for blood.  They are not attracting amiable amateurs, they are attracting expert players who are the only ones who are not intimidated by their demeanor.  This may be good for TV’s World of Poker, but certainly not for the good players who want to pick up a few bucks.

The average amateur is looking to join in a poker game for some fun and is not really concerned whether he wins or loses.  He’s looking for a way to spend some time with people, a chance to get away from the office routine, or to play with real people instead of online.  He’s going to zero in on a table where everyone seems friendly, relaxed and having a good time.  He is not looking for skilled poker players, just those who enjoy the game and each other’s company.

To the players who want to constantly earn an actual income at the table, these guys are a godsend.  An individual player will probably not lose a lot, but will do so consistently.  If the pro wants some dough he has come to the right place.  These good ol’ boys seeking fun will stay longer, place riskier bets and lose more when they are having fun.

The table where no one looks at anyone else, where no conversation is going on, and everyone is pretty much disguised so no faces can be seen, is keeping the amateurs away in droves.

Conversely, the table with conversation and laughter where everyone is complimenting each other on their “great play” will attract the amateurs.  The amateur sees this behavior as trustworthy and will keep coming back for more.  They will lose all right, but they will do so with such a fine disposition, having received entertainment value instead of money.

By keeping the weaker opponents in a fun loving mood, you will keep up their poker hopes.  They must be good, they are having such a good time.  Luck, being the fickle lady that she is, is sure to fall on them some times.  The relaxed ambience of this table will attract more amateurs, making it a golden opportunity for the player looking for serious money.

True poker professionals have not just honed their poker skills and technique, they have also created an public persona and the ability to use this persona to strategically manipulate the game.  They create an attractive, relaxed, trusting environment for the unsuspecting good time boys.  The suckers will happily lose a little and be thankful to you for entertaining them so well.

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Don’t Put Your Persona in A Straightjacket When Playing Poker

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

I wonder what serious poker players expect to gain by hiding their faces behind huge shades, wearing hats covering unshaven faces, and generally appearing as sinister and menacing as possible.  Do they think that will promote fewer tells, or does the bully act actually represent who they are?  One thing is sure, they are oblivious to how their appearance affects those around them.

There has to be some reason for their intimidating, arrogant persona.  They may be attempting to confuse and frighten their opponents, to keep them from challenging their play (and wallets).  Or it may be they have taken on this image because they lack the wit to come up with any other.  If you truly are a sinister intimidating bully, then this persona may work for you.  Most who try to pull this off look like they themselves are scared and  have gone into hiding.

You should think carefully about the image you project.  The bully persona, even if done well, is probably not effective.  It may work on some opponents, but mostly it works against you.  It may also attract the type of opponents that you want to steer clear of – the experts.  If you sit there looking like a hawk, your prey will run in the opposite direction.

You may attract, though rarely, the kind of professional that really is sinister and intimidating.  He may intimidate you out of your chips.  This, of course, will make him impossible to get rid of.  They are getting exactly what they wanted.

You may be putting on that stern impassive face to make you appear like a more serious and focused professional, more concentrated than the rest of the players at the table.  The problem is, though, that anyone who plays poker, whether rookie or expert, is not going to be able to hang on to an impassive demeanor.  If your image is not projecting any of what is really you, it may quash your ability to be conversational and  enjoy the game.  And, in fact, your energy may be expended on maintaining that phony image rather than on winning at poker.

Poker does require the ability to act at times, such as when bluffing.  The good player will adopt an image that is closer to who they really are, though.  If you are not naturally gregarious, you may want to practice becoming more so to better enjoy the game and keep focused on it rather than sprucing up your act.

It takes too much concentration to hold on to a persona that is not at all natural to you.  It’s like playing from a locked cage or straightjacket.  Your focus will be scattered and your game will lack that robust quality.

So, big shades and big hats and appearing like a bandit with a fast draw only seems to require less effort than developing a persona that is closer to the true you.  If you are a professional player, you will spend time observing yourself and envision the player you wish to become.  In time you will be this player and have more luck at the table.

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Your Poker Persona – Suit of Armor?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Why is that many serious players of the game of poker want to project a stoic persona?  Could they be trying to hide their tells by emitting a somber, almost zombie-like presence?  They come off as moody and sinister behind those dark glasses and hooded sweatshirts, like maybe they have holsters and a lightning draw ala Wyatt Earp.  Do they know how they appear to others, do they care?

There has got to be some kind of method to their madness.  Undoubtedly some of them think they can confuse and deflate opponents by their intimidation and arrogance, thereby, discouraging them from any sound play against them.  Theirs is a sullen, bullying persona, which may be the only one they have the imagination to pull off.  Some of them may actually be that dark, insolent person, but I rather think that they are hiding behind a lack of creativity.

The player should consider the image they are actually projecting around a poker table.  If they were to seriously look at the schoolyard bully persona they choose to project, they would see that while it may work on some of their victims, most of the really ripe ones will be totally deterred from playing with such a dour, frightening type.  In other words instead of attracting valid prey that could actually add to their coffers, they are encouraging them to run the other way.

It may have exactly the opposite effect and attract the more secure, professional players who are looking for such an atmosphere so they can practice intimidation and arrogance on you.  These guys may be difficult to get rid of because they may sense you to be the weaker player and proceed to empty your wallet.  This will keep them coming back for more.

If the sullen, serious type isn’t really you, you are spending way too much time on your phony image and not enough on your cards.  It is almost impossible to play several rounds of poker with an impassive façade.  While you do need a special poker persona to strategically manipulate situations to your advantage, it should be one that is comfortable for you, not one which takes a lot of concentration to maintain.  Your concentration should be focused on reading your opponents personae and the cards that are dealt.

It is probably not a good idea to be completely natural at the poker table, a friendlier, more outgoing image will result in greater enjoyment of the game for you and everyone else.  If you are not naturally a gregarious individual, practice being more so.

Don’t even try to keep up an image that is totally at odds with who you really are.  You will not reach your full potential this way, since you are locked into an uncomfortable position.  Save your energy for the cards and observation of those personae around you and how they play the game.

While a costume of big shades, big hats, and big coats in a darkened poker den may appear to require less effort, for the professional player, it is better to show more of yourself.  It takes less time and energy, but you just may become the poker player you always envisioned you could be.

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Poker Persona: Playing Poker In a Straightjacket

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

It seems that many serious players in poker, in trying perhaps to project a minimum of tells, project a kind of moody, somber, or even sinister effect, sunglasses and sun-visors sealing off unshaven faces as if they had a pair of six-shooters under the table. One wonders whether they know what exactly they are trying to gain or whether they simply underestimate the influence of appearance on their own game and on the players around them.

There must certainly be some idea lurking behind their Halloween masks. Very likely they are trying to confuse and discompose opponents by putting on an intimidating show, discouraging players from meeting their bets and challenging their banks. A kind of sulky bully persona which, I think, in many cases stems at least partly from the simple inability to create any other image of oneself. As with the actual sulky street bully type, it betokens a somewhat anxious lack of imagination. Some persons may certainly be actually comfortable with and good at precisely such impersonation. But with many there is a feeling that they hide, rather than project a well thought-out image.

If you have not carefully considered the actual benefits of your image, I am not sure how effective the bully persona finally is. Even if somewhat an effective deterrent – and it is likely to work on somebody; which, however, is not a guarantee of overall effectiveness – in the end it is most likely to attract the kind of opponents you would rather have avoided in the first place. It is like setting a decoy vulture, instead of a decoy duck, and attracting more unwanted vultures rather than the desired game.

It the first place, it may attract the rare professional player who is actually naturally moody and dark to an extent which may intimidate you. After a few such uncomfortable encounters you may find it difficult to get rid of these grim reapers who – with cynical glee – sense in you the weaker prey and grimly reap the rewards. Subsequent games might then grow unnecessarily complicated by your suspicions of how serious some of the sulky opponents at the table actually are.

It may also prove untrue that behind that impassive façade you are concentrating on the game more intensely then the rest, since, as it were, you don’t have to do much except keep the shades on. The truth, however, is that for the mind – which is precisely what poker is about – there is no such thing as an impassive façade. If the sulky persona does not come naturally to you, but is the result of your inability or fear to try more conversational and cheery images, your mind is actually hard at work suppressing those reactions more essential to you.

Though one is not advised to be fully natural in poker, one had better create an image which is the most natural to impersonate. A more “openly” social image may take some practice to maintain, but it will result in your greater enjoyment of the game and greater focus, since your mind will be busy doing what it more or less enjoys.

Keeping up a persona radically antithetical to yourself won’t allow your full potential to unfold, since you are virtually playing poker in a straightjacket, while the effort saps even more of your concentration without contributing any vigor to your game.

Thus, shades and a baseball cap in the dimly lit poker room may only seem to require less effort. It may be better, for the professional player, to spend some time observing one’s own ways and selectively organizing them into the poker player you wish to be and actually can be at the table.

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Dealing with Mental Blockage in Poker

Friday, November 20th, 2009

It is humbling to realize how much our basic functions can take control of our conscious minds.  Remember the study of Pavlov and his dogs?  This was a scientific study done on dogs where they would salivate at the ringing of a bell.  A ringing bell meant food.  No other sound meant food to them.  This experiment has been tried with other animals as well, with pigeons, cuttlefish and mice to name a few.  The same phenomenon occurs with them.  Habit conditions them to believe that specific symbols or signs result in a specific event.

Even more important,  the study shows that once an individual is thoroughly conditioned to trust the sign, they will not search for other variations of possible occurrences similar, but a shade different, to the one in which they are so habituated to believe.  So a mouse who has thoroughly got the message that a falling rock means food, and if that incident doesn’t occur, there is no food, he will take it that all other signs except for the falling rock indicate no food.  To him there are no other possibilities and he will not look for them.

There have been times I am sure that you have been made suddenly aware of a realization that never occurred to you before.  Something like the CEO of Ford is one of the finest executives in the country.  Is he?  Or is he simply Henry Ford’s great grandson?

It is not unusual that during an evening of poker, a few of the players take a break and chat about the game.  During their discussion they zero in on player number four (not present in the break room).  They go on about what a lousy player he is and how could he possibly still be in the game.  The two players involved in the discussion leave the table to discuss their observations in almost whispering tones and swear each other to secrecy.  By sharing their observations, they discover that each had noticed a completely different behavioral tidbit.  The first noticed that whenever number four had a good hand, he would place his bet, clench his hands into fists and lay them on the table, never doing this under another situation.  While the second one observed that number four, whenever he had a bad hand, would push his chips around noisily, never engaging in this behavior under any other circumstance.

So number four has two actions that betray him.  The smug, secretive twosome who consider themselves to be good players, each picked up on only one.  Their minds simply stopped discovering at one observation and never reached beyond for further insight.

This phenomenon is important for the successful poker player to take note of.  The best players can be distinguished by their curious and active minds throughout the play.  They keenly observe and classify according to importance the traits of their opponents and use them to their advantage.

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