Cold secrets of the poker face

Caspar Greeff In an obscure 1970 spaghetti western titled A Man Called Sledge, Luther Sledge, played by James Garner, tells an opponent at a poker table: "Hate don't belong in a card game, but old man, I'm gonna take every grain of gold you have in front of you."

He was right on one count, wrong on another, because greed doesn't belong in a poker game either. Nor do anger, annoyance, resentment, anxiety, fear, distress, elation, euphoria and joy. Emotions, except for curiosity, have no place at a poker table. When you play poker your emotions betray you to the enemy: your emotions are traitors.

Emotions are a form of communication, to oneself and others. Communication is information, and information is gold at a poker table.


Poker pro Johnny Hughes says "the emotions at the table that are most useful to read are anger, fear, confidence and joy." If you spot an angry player at your table, Hughes advises you to "reinforce the anger with some small shown bluffs". He says you should show fearful players "zero mercy" and "play where they will fear you more". Confident players are just begging to be taken down. As for joy, Hughes says, "Joy is the best emotion to play against... I love a sucker (whoops . recreational player) on a rush."

So how do you leave your emotions behind - or at least learn to control and master them - when you take your seat at the shrine to the Holy Game of Poker?

Meditate. Many top players practise meditation before and after games. Meditation will help you to achieve what Buddhists call "mindfulness", which is total immersion in the moment. Meditation will help you to clear your mind of emotional clutter.

Always be aware of your breathing. Never allow your breathing to deepen or accelerate.

Learn to relax. Smile frequently. Smile when you win, smile when you lose, smile when another player does well.

Try and be aware of your every gesture.

Don't get stuck in the past. Once a hand is over it's over. If you dwell on a hand that's already been played you won't be able to focus fully on the hand that you are now playing. Be present in the present.

If you're having a bad run don't take it personally. The cards are impersonal; bad runs happen to everyone and, like all things, they pass.

Never target another player for emotional reasons ("I'm going to teach him a lesson for beating me"). Only target other players when you have reason to, based on their (micro-)display of emotion.

Some poker authorities advise setting aside the desire to win. When you have a strong desire to win, this will give rise to a palette of emotions, which will paint a picture of defeat. Play to play. Play to play as well as you possibly can, but don't get obsessed with winning. Then you will win naturally.