Do you ever have that itch? The itch to bet, to head to the nearest gambling house, to uncover a great stakes game of Texas hold em, to sit at a Twenty-one table for hours on end. I really like that itch. And I love to scratch it.
I also like to watch folks gamble. No 2 poker faces seem the same. When I gamble I like to feel I put on a poker face that’s impenetrable. But I know I have particular mannerisms. For one, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I play poker or Twenty-one. And then I chain smoke. But I smoke no matter whether I am succeeding or losing, whether or not I have a great hand or bad.
I once played in the weekly poker game. The game was always 5 card draw. There was a player who bet with us every week who always wore a hat. When he was dealt a excellent hand, subconsciously, he would start touching and wagering with his hat. Needless to say, he by no means won.
The very best poker player I ever saw was a guy who created far more actions and gestures at a poker table than anybody I had ever seen. He was impressive in the way he dressed. Always an costly suit and tie, shoes shined and nails manicured. He was fastidious in this manner. And he was constantly brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or stacking his chips in tidy little piles.
I use to study him for hours. I would attempt to see if I could notice his tell. Picking lint off his shirt- did this mean he was bluffing? Arranging his chips in a very short pile – did this mean he had a very good hand?
Many years later I ran into him in a very bar in Chi town and we had a beverage. I asked him if he have been aware of all those actions he produced or if they had been unconscious. He told me that each and every little thing he did at a poker table was intentional. He said that everyone is generally checking out everybody else’s poker face. They are attempting to notice the the tell.
So his technique was to provide them lots to feel about. His thinking was if they had been thinking about him choosing a piece of lint off his jacket and what it meant they positive were not thinking about their cards.
His system was distraction. And it worked for him. By no means give up a system that functions for you.
