How important is a poker face?
An opponent stares at you from across the table. He’s looking into your eyes, studying every muscle movement you make. He’s trying to get a read on you. How good is your poker face?
Poker is a game of incomplete information. Apart from very particular situations like showdown, you never know for certain what cards your opponent has.
Instead, you’ll need every piece of data at your disposal to narrow down opponents’ hand ranges. You’ll need to consider everything. Position, stack sizes, betting actions and timing tells. They can all help you decide what to do.
In live poker, you and the other players can also look for physical tells. Anything that might reveal information, including facial expressions.
But just how much information can be gained from facial expressions? And how important is it to have a good poker face?
What is a poker face?
A poker face is a term coined in the 19th century. It describes an expression that shows no excessive emotion or information. In our case, when it comes to the strength of a poker hand.
But the misconception around having a poker face is having to keep a completely blank expression.
You could well be smiling, laughing and chatting with other players about something unrelated to the hand. Or, you might be musing over a thought, one that causes you to frown or smile.
Having a good poker face is more about keeping a relaxed, natural expression so that you don’t give away additional information about your hand.
Good luck getting a read on Patrik Antonius
Why it’s not relevant online
When it comes to the importance of having a poker face, the first point to consider is an obvious one. You don’t need to have one when playing online. Your opponents cannot see you.
When playing online, you’ll need to rely on other tells such as timing and betting actions. The same is true for your opponents. You don’t need to worry about physical tells whatsoever.
If you’re used to playing online, you’ll need to keep in mind that physical tells, including facial expressions, are a part of the live game. It’s something that will take a bit of getting used to when you first step foot in the casino.
Benefits of a good poker face
Inexperienced players tend to have less emotional control and give away information in various ways. Although it’s not always a reliable indicator, opponents may be able to work with this information to make more informed decisions.
Having a good poker face takes this away from opponents. You won’t give any easy info away, instead forcing other players to rely on other factors to weigh up your hand strength.
So, although having a good poker face won’t directly add any major benefits to your game, not having a bad one makes opponents’ lives more difficult.
Is having a good poker face important?
Maintaining a neutral expression is important when playing live. But the importance of reading and concealing physical tells is often overstated.
Unless you’re grinning when you get a strong hand, or frowning when in a tough spot, it’s unlikely opponents will learn much about your hand from facial expressions alone.
There are so many factors to consider when playing poker, such as hand ranges, position, stack sizes and the betting action. They are all much more reliable indicators of hand strength.
Physical tells from a player’s poker face are not always reliable. Taken with too much weight could even influence decisions in the wrong direction. It’s more a case of seeing whether facial expressions and physical tells match up with the story being told when bets are made.
Having a poker face is certainly useful to make 100 per cent sure other players can’t gain information. But it’s nowhere near as important as the poker strategy that you use and the betting lines you take.
Back to TopLatest Articles
View Other Blogs
