Do you ever acquire that itch? The itch to gamble, to head to the closest gambling house, to locate a great stakes casino game of Hold em, to sit at a Black-jack table for hours on end. I like that itch. And I like to scratch it.
I also really like to watch men and women bet. No 2 poker faces seem alike. When I gamble I like to think I put on a poker face that is impassable. But I know I have certain mannerisms. For 1, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I play poker or Pontoon. And then I smoke. But I chain smoke whether I am succeeding or losing, whether I have a good hand or bad.
I once wagered inside a weekly poker game. The game was usually 5 card draw. There was a man who played with us each week who often wore a hat. When he was dealt a beneficial hand, unconsciously, he would start touching and playing with his hat. Needless to say, he never won.
The very best poker player I ever saw was a man who produced a lot more actions and signals at a poker table than anyone I had ever seen. He was flawless in the way he dressed. Constantly an high priced suit and tie, shoes shined and nails trimmed. He was meticulous in this manner. And he was usually brushing his pant leg or holding his hands or stacking his chips in neat little piles.
I use to analyze him for hours. I would tried to see if I could notice his tell. Picking fuzz off his jacket- did this mean he was bluffing? Arranging his chips within a short pile – did this imply he had a beneficial hand?
Many years later I ran into him within a bar in Chicago, il and we had a beer. I asked him if he had been aware of all those motions he created or if they were unconscious. He informed me that each little thing he did at a poker table was deliberate. He said that everyone is constantly checking out everyone else’s poker face. They’re trying to spot the the tell.
So his system was to give them lots to believe about. His thinking was if they had been thinking about him choosing a piece of lint off his coat and what it meant they sure were not pondering about their cards.
His technique was distraction. And it worked for him. By no means give up a system that operates for you.