How to have a poker face is something that is debated by even the most successful live poker players, but some of the mainstays include controlled breathing, limiting your physical gestures, and telling a story that convinces opponents that you are holding a specific hand (or range of hands) from which you can extract an advantage. If you’re just starting out playing the game (or if you’re comfortable with being a casual, recreational player who doesn’t fret over the hard work necessary to extract maximum value from your demeanor at the live tables), then having fun with your poker face can become something that is done for purely entertainment.īest of all, you can probably learn a thing or two even if you’re not in a particular live poker game to make money – but at a cost. Trying out and practicing your poker face can be something that a novice poker player does just for fun, or a routine that becomes integral to a professional live poker player’s for-profit arsenal.

In this article, we will outline some of the elements that go into having a poker face, and review a few of the elements that may help (or hinder) a poker player’s ability to tell a believable story through the use of a poker face.

Whether you’re a beginning card player who is learning how to play poker or a professional who has become value-conscious of every situation, one’s poker face can be a popular topic of conversation at and away from the tables. Is your opponent providing you with a “tell” through his or her expression? Does a smile represent a strong hand? Do facial gestures reveal whether someone at the table is bluffing? And are you inadvertently (or purposefully) giving away information through your own poker face? The strategy and fun connected to deciphering one’s poker face has become one of the most iconic, retold stories for centuries in live card room environments around the world.

What does keep poker face mean