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Read a Poker Face!?

Read a Poker Face!?

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Mystic Meg

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Ok, Saturday evening I am off to play some Poker with 5 or 6 friends... and I could use some extra cash.

Anyone have any insight on what to really look for in a person at the poker table? I will be looking for these things, as well as try to give away false info with my face and body language.

I've looked around online a bit, and did rather well on one test I found... but they didn't give any reasons why I was right... or the one I got wrong.

P-

r

Over seas

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I just carry a huge amount of cash and drive the pot up so high every one will fold.

Mike

TheSkipper
Pimp!

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In situations like this I just show up at the place where the poker will be played. I hand my opponents $20 dollars each, and then go do something I'm good at...like sleeping. I have not spent a lot of time studying the look on their faces...but based on my research in the area I think they are happy. 😉

TheSkipper

bbarr
Chief Justice

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Originally posted by Phlabibit
Ok, Saturday evening I am off to play some Poker with 5 or 6 friends... and I could use some extra cash.

Anyone have any insight on what to really look for in a person at the poker table? I will be looking for these things, as well as try to give away false info with my face and body language.

I've looked around online a bit, and did rather well o ...[text shortened]... I found... but they didn't give any reasons why I was right... or the one I got wrong.

P-
Did you search for "common tells"? I think that is the right phrase. Good luck, I was never any good at poker, my friends could read me like a book.

r

Over seas

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Originally posted by bbarr
Did you search for "common tells"? I think that is the right phrase. Good luck, I was never any good at poker, my friends could read me like a book.
I knew you would say that!

r
CHAOS GHOST!!!

Elsewhere

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We used to play poker for (pathetically small) amounts of money at school. My strategy was usually to express emotion much more strongly than I normally do, in totally random ways, combined with lots of ridiculously crude humour.

Actually, the man to ask about this is !~TONY~!

P
Mystic Meg

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Lol! So far the Skipper might have the right idea!

I hate that guy who keeps raising... I never much cared for the guy with expendable funds to just drive every pot up.

I do ok at poker when I do do well... some nights I am off and I know it. Everyone loves when I fold right away (not)

'Why did you fold'?

I have a bad hand.

'You have another 3 cards coming'!

They suck too!

So I hope for a good night, last time I was punished.

One of these nights I'm having poker night at my place, and everyone gets a squirt gun.... Use it for the wrong reason, and everyone squirts you.

Should be fun.

Bbarr... I know how you feel. Just think about sad puppies when you get that good hand.. Or happy puppies when you have the bad hand.

RC, we play for 25 cent max rais... and most of us only spend a good 10 bucks on the night... and someone usually walks out with an extra 20 or even 30? I am never too shy to yell, 'enough'! and quit before I spend 20 bucks.

P-

T

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Originally posted by Phlabibit
Ok, Saturday evening I am off to play some Poker with 5 or 6 friends... and I could use some extra cash.

Anyone have any insight on what to really look for in a person at the poker table? I will be looking for these things, as well as try to give away false info with my face and body language.

I've looked around online a bit, and did rather well o ...[text shortened]... I found... but they didn't give any reasons why I was right... or the one I got wrong.

P-
What are you playing Phlabmeister General? I have only very limited experience but used to play a bit of five card draw before discovering the delights of Texas Hold 'Em.

If you're playing with friends then that can be an advantage in that you have an idea of their personalities. I used to play with someone who was quite a meek, circumspect individual but liable to get sucked into things. Raise the pot too high and bang, they folded. Keep it going up gradually in as small a step as possible and they couldn't help themself but play along. Similarly, a rather ebullient fiscally care-free character had no problem with high raises. Obviously, it works both ways in that they may feel that they have an idea of what kind of player you are!

Also, don't be afraid of bluffing and being exposed early on in the game. If there are people playing for the first time then don't be afraid to throw them a few easy wins at the start while the pots are prolly still low. Suck 'em in and sting 'em later!! I'm with RC, depends how you feel but I've always found a rock solid poker face near impossible. Whether naturally felt, or as part of an act, the erratic, irrational, emotional player is often the most difficult to play against.

Good luck!

s
Geek

Behind you...

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I believe I can be of help here, being something of a poker player myself. One thing you must always look for (more important than reading your opponent's facial expressions) is your opponent's actions. If he raised here, checked there, threw in that much of a bet here, always ask yourself why he did these things and try to piece together what you think he might have. Now as far as tells go, it's usually very hard to get a read on someone at first, so you have to play with them for a little bit and study them out of the corner of your eye, always focusing on some little mannerism they may have everytime they check or bet. Usually players will just focus on one person but once you get better at it you'll begin keeping an eye on 3 or 4 people at the table. One thing that helps me is to focus on their eyes. You can keep as stone a face as you'd like but you cannot prevent a flicker in your eyes or your pupils getting wide. And I have a buddy who is teaching me how to pick up on pulsating neck muscles, which I hear is what poker legend Doyle Brunson uses to read people. And if it comes down to it, then just go off your instincts, which is what a lot of people do!

Hope I helped! 🙂


-Kev

m

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Originally posted by Phlabibit
Lol! So far the Skipper might have the right idea!

I hate that guy who keeps raising... I never much cared for the guy with expendable funds to just drive every pot up.

I do ok at poker when I do do well... some nights I am off and I know it. Everyone loves when I fold right away (not)

'Why did you fold'?

I have a bad hand.

'You have ...[text shortened]... 20 or even 30? I am never too shy to yell, 'enough'! and quit before I spend 20 bucks.

P-
Poker is for cowboys.
Don't look into their face.
The key is bluffing.
Glance at your cards and throw cash.
If you lose pull out your gun and shoot them.

P
Mystic Meg

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Good Advice, that is what the squirt guns are for... so I don't need to clean up any blood and guts!




Thanx, more great info! I am probably better with my instincts than to learn to read someone better.... but it can't hurt to know how to do both!

As for games we play. It is always dealers choice! We just started playing Texas Hold'em... I had never heard of it before the Poker became popular on tv.

5 card stud
5 card draw
5 card double draw
Baseball (3 and 9 wild, 9 buys an extra card for a quarter)
7 card no peak
Guts.... (gah!)

Guts is sick... if you lost the hand, you match the pot.

I don't like wild cards, so I usually play the 5 card games and make a bigger anti if it is stud. Not sure if I got Baseball rules right, I never call that game. I am sure I missed some, and once in a while I'll play a 2 card game with 3 cards up for everyone to share... or make up something simple and strange.

I don't like a single game with tons of bets... Baseball and 7 card no peak get huge pots.

P-



b

outahere

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Originally posted by seraphimvulture
I believe I can be of help here, being something of a poker player myself. One thing you must always look for (more important than reading your opponent's facial expressions) is your opponent's actions. If he raised here, checked there, threw in that much of a bet here, always ask yourself why he did these things and try to piece together what you ...[text shortened]... hen just go off your instincts, which is what a lot of people do!

Hope I helped! 🙂


-Kev
Very good insight.

In a quarter raise max game, you're not going to see a lot of the subconcious emotional responses unfortunately. You're better off, like seraphim says, to observe how they play.

Watch for shaky hands, even in low stakes, when someone gets a kicker of a hand, their hands will often shake and they will get fidgety. I don't have to worry about that tell myself because my hands shake all the time, especially if I'm playing a $100 max raise game. Any sort of "limit" games cuts down on how much you can free-wheel, because they(the limits) keep you from going "way" over the top.

Also pay attention to their verbalization, if they're normally quiet and start getting talkative or vice versa, it can be a good sign they've gotten something they're very proud of in their hand.

Don't be afraid to bluff your pants off, especially if you're playing a game with face up cards, like hold 'em or stud, but choose your time correctly. If all the face ups (especially in hold 'em) give them better odds, bail.

BTW now I can never play poker with you because I've told you what I'm looking at.

The best advice though is to bring plenty of beer and have a good time. Screw the cash, it's only a tool. As much as it hurts to lose, unless you're a compulsive gambler, you already approached the game like the cash was gone anyway.

b

outahere

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Originally posted by Phlabibit
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Good Advice, that is what the squirt guns are for... so I don't need to clean up any blood and guts!




Thanx, more great info! I am probably better with my instincts than to learn to read someone better.... but it can't hurt to know how to do both!

As for games we play. It is always dealers choice! We just started playing Te ...[text shortened]... ike a single game with tons of bets... Baseball and 7 card no peak get huge pots.

P-



Wild card games -- throw all the rules out the window.

One of my favorites though, usually played around 3 in the a.m. and after massive quantities have been consumed, is "Bitch" - 7 card stud with all queens wild and and when a queen shows face up the card dealt immediately after it becomes wild also. The kicker is that if a 2nd queen faces up, the first wild card is no longer wild and is replaced by the next card dealt. Talk about screwing with your head...a great hand all of a sudden becomes mediocre.

turtlex
Picard Is My Captain

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having recently been sucked into the world of "Ultimate Bet" - online poker - I have to say that I like playing online better. It forces you to play your cards, rather than other "faces" so much.

(am turtlex over there as well)

The only rule about betting in person I use is something I've heard many times before - if I person leans in, then they're trying to be "treatening" and are likely bluffing or unsure of their hand. If they bet and lean back, its because they are confident they will win.

Good Luck.

P
Mystic Meg

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Ah, yes... played some bitch! That is nuts.

Leaning in and leaning out is the whole reason I started this thread... I plan to play around with that, and watch for it.

Any other games out there? I kind of remember one where if you have the low club you auto get half the pot? Or something like that.

So many poker games... I should look some up.

P-

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