P O K E R N A T I O N
Paradise Million final table in Costa Rica
EZ NLHE Tournys
Marcel Luske suggests:
Level 1:AA allin preflop, fold everything else
L2-5: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, AKs & AKo allin preflop, fold everything else
L6 on: AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 1010, 99, 88, 77, AKso, AQso, AJso, A10s allin preflop, fold everything else
Fischman on Sit'n Go technique Q & A
Fischman on Sit'n Go technique Q & A
Response: Yes, it may be a little harder in turbos, but upon further investigation you may find that these strategies work even better in them. I can tell you that in the rare free time that I do come by these days, when I hop into a session with the intent of SNG play, I mostly enter the turbos. Basically, what I have found (and this may vary greatly depending on the size of the buy-in) is that other players feel they need to gamble more in turbos. Obviously, taking the opposite side of that strategy would be optimal. What happens is you just reach the different stages at different times and with different numbers of players around for that particular stage. For example, if in a normal SNG, the middle would be approx four to six players left and the end being the last four players, the turbo might have the middle stage happening at six to eight players and the end being the last five players. I think you will get a feel for this. It comes down more to the size of the stack in relation to the blinds than how many players are left. Don’t forget the obvious adjustment of being in all-in mode with eight players left will be a lot tougher then being in all-in mode with only four players left. You may not get a lot of good “spots” to steal and push, since every player is forced into this survival mode and may be forced to call more often.
Response: Cards are irrelevant as far as your question goes. You are looking for the spot not the hand!
4. All in phase — most important question — how big do the blinds have to be on the bubble to make it worth the all in? Example — if you have2000 chips and are in 2nd out of 3 players, if the blinds are 25/50 is it worth pushing to add 75 chips? For me, I needed to adjust the strategy to switch into ultra aggression only when the blinds have become 50/100 or more (assuming I have an OK chip stack). Im interested in your thoughts on this.
Response: My answer to your first question should help you a bit. Basically, the end stage or all-in stage is not determined by the number of players but by the size of your stack. You should never be in all-in mode unless you have about 7 big blinds worth of chips or less. So if you have 2,000, the blinds would have to be 150-300 to warrant this type of all-in mode!
When I’m behind on chips, should I raise all in, or fold? If I call, I’m pot committed, so it’s not really an option. I know it depends on who you’re playing against, but assuming I’m facing AQ or AK every time (I usually am), what is the right thing to do in this situation? Is this a big enough margin to push, considering the circumstances?
Tim
Response: I think this is a perfect example of how to use my sit-n-go strategy, which I cover in depth in my new book, Online Ace (sorry, had to do the shameless plug — there is a link to purchase on www.thefishtank.com and www.scottfischman.com). As much as I’d like to say that it’s not an all-in lottery when the blinds get huge and there are only a few players left, that’s essentially exactly what it is. However, there is some skill advantage that you will have over your opponents in the long run if you play perfectly, but that’s easier said than done, since the blinds are so high and the stacks are so low. My suggestion to you would be next time you get down to three players, regardless of your stack, push all in every hand if no one else has pushed all in before you. Analyze exactly what happens and pay attention to what your results are and adjust accordingly. Once you are comfortable and feel like you can gauge where to push in, you won’t need to do it every time, but at first, pushing in every hand will help you learn this. You can scale back accordingly in the future for optimal results.
Hi Scott,
I know you are the perfect person to ask this question since you play a lot of tournaments, I do well at 1 & 3 table SNG’s I cash about 30% of time, but I really want to be successful in 100+ person tournaments and I always find myself in the middle of tournaments with maybe 6 times the big blind. I play well, but it gets to that point where you don’t see flops and it’s huge raises pre-flop and blind stealing. I do my part to steal in good position, and I push hard when I do get a monster, but I get to the point where I have to push or get blinded out, and I end up busting out a little bit before bubble time starts. I know there isn’t a secret formula, but should I take more risks early in the tourney? The propensity of players online to play hands like A 9 and call all the way to the river until they are saved by the A is horrendous, they call huge bets hoping for the A and they get it a lot of the times. Any advice is appreciated.
Marcus
Response: First of all, you really shouldn’t let yourself get down to 6 times the big blind. When you are near the bubble with 7 to 10 big blinds, in my opinion you have two choices. You can (a). pick up a monster, which is the same as getting lucky, or (b). play no hands in any position so you are being very patient and waiting for premium hands. However, if you are on the button or in the small blind and everyone folds to you, push all in without looking at your cards. This strategy essentially allows you to play round by round waiting to pick up a monster, but not losing any ground if you are able to pick up the blinds with one or two others in the pot. In the long run, the math is with you when you push all in blind in that situation, because that person has to have a hand to call you with and win at showdown, so mathematically you will win most of the time and keep your stack large enough to still have fold equity (meaning you have enough to chips to induce another player to fold). Which brings me to my next point. If you fall below seven big blinds, the math is not with you, because the chance of you getting called is much higher. That is why you must push all in regardless of what cards you have when your stack is still large enough to steal the blinds.
Single table Sit-N-Gos…I do well with them, and they seem to be great practice, but I was wondering if they are something that can be played for long-term profit?
- Matt
Response: Absolutely! I built my initial online bankroll playing sit-n-gos. Yes, they are also good for practice, but there shouldn't be any distinction between the two: You are always practicing, even when you are playing for profit. If you can find a sit-n-go that you like, put in the hours.
Please let me know what you would have done here, as I obviously misplayed this hand.
A NLH SnG, 25/50 blinds. I was in the Big Blind with black 2s; 3 players and the SB limp. 5 players, 250 in the pot. The flop is 2-9-2. I checked and so did the table.
The turn was an Ace and again I checked, thinking someone would definitely bet here, again everyone checked. The river was a Jack.
I bet 150 and to my horror everyone folded to the SB, who thought and then mucked (I've since put him on a 9 and think he would have paid a flop bet).
The question is, I know I misplayed the hand but what's your advice to flopping a monster and getting paid off?
Wil - Tallahassee
Response: When they say there is a lot of luck in poker sometimes they are referring to situations like this. Obviously when you flop quads there aren't a whole lot of combinations of cards for your opponents to be holding that would make them want to pay you off. After a huge flop like this. I would consider it lucky for you to find a spot where you would make a lot of money. One of the most common ways for you to do this is to induce a big bluff by someone in the pot with you. Since you have pretty much everything out there the only way to make a ton of money is by inducing the bluff. Personally, I usually just bet right out. If the pot was 250 I would probably bet out 175. Since you were in the blind, you want to represent that you are representing the 2. It is very common for a player in the blinds to lead out on a rag flop like this. If you lead out big it narrows the chances of you having a deuce in your opponent's mind and he might try to bluff you!
Hi Scott, what advice would you give me on a pair of aces? Should I raise and force the others out or just limp in and hope to get others in. I have had bad luck limping in because others can get three of a kind on the flop, but there have been times when I raise and everybody else folds and it's frustrating because aces don't come by very often. What do you suggest I do, as you are a great champion poker player? Thanks a lot.
Response: Please remember that aces are one pair!! Now ask yourself, how often do you see one pair win? The fact is that one pair does win quite often, but when playing no-limit hold'em, sometimes it is not exactly cheap to get all the way to the river to find out if your one pair wins. Most of the time in no-limit, if you do get all the way to the river against an opponent who is also willing to put his stack in there, he will have one pair beat. I would have to advise you to always raise with pocket aces. Slow-playing is something that I rarely do. Raising is a tactic used to gather information. You will always be needing to get as much information as you can in order to make the best possible decisions. RAIZZZZ IT!!!!
A guide to single table tournaments
by Adam
When I first started playing poker online in mid 2003, I played $1/$2 limit cash games and low buy-in STT’s (also known as “minis” or “sit-n-go’s”). My bankroll was tiny at the time (rarely more than $100 in any online account at any given time), and it was right for me to keep so little in, because I did not possess the skills to be a steady winner.
After playing thousands of STT’s, and learning quite a bit more about poker in general, I now am a master of these tournaments. I don’t play STT’s with a higher buy-in than $50, but in the ones I do play, I am a consistent money finisher, and I almost never finish 3rd. I’m here to share with you the secrets to my success in STT’s.
Let me first make sure all readers understand that I’m referring to STT’s with a buy-in of $50 or less, and that I generally stick to “full-table” STT’s with this strategy. A number of adjustments are needed when playing in higher buy-in STT’s (where play is tougher and more aggressive) or in shorthanded STT’s, such as the 6-seated ones on UltimateBet. I’m not going to get into those adjustments in this article, so just know that what you are reading refers to low buy-in, 9-handed or 10-handed STT’s.
The reason I like full-table STT’s is that the payouts allow you to still make a decent profit even if you aren’t able to win heads up, which can often have a lot to do with luck, since the blinds get so high at that point. Another reason I like them is that it allows for a nice long “bubble period” in which I can abuse all the players at my table who are afraid of missing the money. I’ll get more into that later in the article…
Please know that the strategy I will be discussing in this article (particularly how to play the first two segments of the STT) is a proven winner, widely accepted by a large number of internet professionals. I provide more specifics, however, in order to try and clear up some of the grey areas.
There are 3 key segments of a STT:
1) The beginning
2) The bubble
3) In the money
Hopefully if you follow my advice, you’ll be making it to the 3rd part more often than not. So here is how to play each of these segments.
The Beginning
It is very simple—play tight. Most of the players in these tournaments are flat out bad, and just sitting around without taking any silly gambles will allow you to watch half the field get eliminated. Sometimes during this period of time you will get a big hand. AA, KK, AK, QQ are big hands. If you get one of these, play it aggressively before the flop, and if you miss the flop (A hits for KK, nothing for AK, A or K hits for QQ), don’t go any further with it.
If someone hits an underset against my overpair, well, I usually just get eliminated. I can deal with that, because the chance of it happening is so slim when I am involved in so few hands. That doesn’t mean I always will be all in if I have an overpair with QQ, KK, or AA, but on a non-scary board, I’m not afraid to get all my chips in with these hands, especially since most players in these tournaments play top pair like it is the nuts. An exception to this, of course, is when I know that my opponent is a strong player. That is rarely the case though in low buy-in STT’s.
The only other times I see fit to enter a hand are when I hold pairs smaller than QQ. If the amount I have to call to see a flop is less than 7-8% of my stack, I try and see a flop. An exception is when the raiser has many fewer chips than me (i.e. not enough to pay me off 10x whatever I call preflop)—then I will generally fold, since I don’t have the opportunity to win a huge pot if I hit a set.
When playing smaller pairs, I am very careful in STT’s, and typically will not go too far with one unless I hit my set or am otherwise nearly positive that my hand is the best. Specifically, I won’t call big bets with small pairs after the flop unless I hit my set.
I use these guidelines for my STT play until the field narrows down to 5 players, unless the big blind reaches 1/100 of the total chips in play while there are still more than 5 in. For instance, if I’m playing a sit-n-go on UltimateBet and the blinds get to 50-100, since there are 10,000 total chips in play, the big blind is now 1/100 of the total chips in play. When the blinds reach this level OR the field is narrowed down to 5, my play changes dramatically.
The Bubble
When my STT gets down to 5 players, I turn up the heat....bigtime. In the rare case that the blinds are still small at this point, I stay fairly tight (although not as tight) until they get to be something significant (50-100 on UB, 75-150 on Stars). If the blinds get significant while there are still more than 5 players in, you have no choice but to become more aggressive.
Players at this point have invested a fair amount of time into the tournament, and they do not want to exit without getting at least a little bit of money back. This works to my advantage, as I am able to win a lot of pots without showing down my cards.
One quick note about all this: You always have to adjust to the way your opponents are playing. I can generally figure out pretty quickly which players are fearful of busting out on the bubble, and I focus my aggression against those players, as well as any player who isn’t able to take more than about half my chips in one hand. Be careful not to just start firing away at this point, as some of your opponents will be good enough (and fearless enough) to play back at you.
That said, the hands I raise with at this point in the tournament more or less fall into the following categories:
1) Any ace
2) Any pair
3) Any two cards T or higher
4) Any suited king
Position plays a factor in this of course. I won’t raise with K2 UTG, for instance. Also, I only want to be opening pots with these hands. I don’t want to be raising a limper with 3 3. Stick to pots where you are beginning and controlling the action, unless you have a big hand.
I will enter pots that other players have opened, but I will only do so if I’m reasonably confident that I can push them out (or I have a big hand), and I will almost never flat call a raise. I like to move in on a scared raiser during this segment with most pairs and strong aces, but again, I will only do so if I feel confident that I can get that player to fold. I really don’t want to be called more than maybe 20% of the times I make this sort of move, so I use a lot of discretion as to my timing for something like that.
I generally raise the same amount every time I enter a pot at this point in the tourney unless I am on one of the blinds. If the blinds are 75-150, I will raise to 375. If they are 50-100, I raise to 275. I don’t want to raise the minimum because I know many players are willing to call a minimum raise on principle, but I don’t want to raise any more than I have to. I think keeping the pots small works for me at this point because I am the aggressor. The exception when I’m on the blinds is due to the fact that I don’t like playing hands out of position. I will usually only raise on the blinds with a big hand, and I will raise big (4x the BB).
If you get called, play carefully, particularly if you are up against a tight player. I often will check down after the flop or only take one medium-sized stab at the pot, unless I hit a piece of the board. If I hit any piece and it is checked to me, I will make a bet, but I will still play carefully if I get action. You have to use some judgment in these hands, but the bottom line is that you don’t want to lose all the chips you’ve worked for in one hand.
What inevitably happens to end this segment of the STT is one of two things, and they both have to do with one of my short-stacked opponents finally moving in over the top of my raise. Either I actually have the best hand and bust them or they have the best hand but I outdraw them. Either way, I’m only all in with them if I’m risking a relatively small % of my stack, so I’m willing to take that chance, especially when I’ve already got some money in. It also sends a message to my opponents that I will not fold to a reraise.
If I lose an all in to a small stack, I just keep playing the same aggressive style and generally build back up rather quickly. People just continue to play in fear of busting out, and you have to take advantage of that. A big advantage of playing this part of the tournament the way I do is that you rarely get to the final 3 with the short stack. You will almost always have a competitive amount of chips, which will give you the ability to get one of the top two payouts, which are generally where 80% of the money is. Occasionally you will get unlucky and bust out in 4th or 5th, but so what? In the long run you will make more money.
Before I go on to how to play once you are in the money, I would like to note that I do not enjoy playing short-stacked at this point in the tournament, but if things don’t work out as I want them to and this ends up being the case, I still try as hard as possible to avoid showing down hands. I will push in whenever I have the opportunity to open and am holding any of my “raising hands,” and I will hope to pick up a few blinds and/or get lucky and win a showdown. I don’t waste time trying to see flops for cheap, because every time I do that, I’m giving up chips that I can possibly use to push my opponents out of a future hand.
In the Money
OK, you made it! But you want more, right? I know I do. Most ten-handed STT’s have a payout structure in which 3rd gets two buy-ins (20%), 2nd gets three buy-ins (30%), and 1st gets 5 buy-ins (50%). So as I stated before, 80% of the money is in the top 2 spots. Don’t settle for third!
Generally I have the most chips or am in second place by a small amount, so I am still able to be the bully. However, there are some adjustments I have to make at this point. Particularly, if I notice that a player is happy to have made the money and now willing to go all in with any marginal hand, I will have to play somewhat tighter against that player.
Often I will bully the LARGER of the two stacks at this point. Why, you ask? Because that player is the one who most likely believes he is capable of winning the tournament, and he won’t want to take as many chances as the shortest stack.
There are certain moves that I simply will NOT make at this point. Say there are four left and I have 4000 chips, and a player with 1700 raises the 100 chip blind to 300 on the button. I would likely move in from the big blind with hands as weak as 6 6 or AhTh, because I know this player would rather hang onto his 1400 chips than risk being eliminated on the bubble. I will not do this once we are in the money, because I know players are much more willing to race and/or chase once they are guaranteed a piece of the prize pool, and I don’t want to race—rather I want to win as many pots as possible without showing down hands. I only want to show down when I’m either holding a big hand or up against a stack that can’t hurt me.
When I get to heads up, I try to detect patterns in my opponent’s play and use them to my advantage. If there’s a certain bet I make that always seems to get raised, I will let him push me out a few times and then make the same play when I have a big hand. If he is always folding when I bet big, I bet big all the time and fold if he raises. If he’s willing to fold to minimum bets, I make minimum bets every hand. I simply will not call off a large amount of my chips heads up unless I’m pretty sure I’m far ahead in the hand. I still want to be the aggressor, so I would rather be playing a medium sized pot if I’m the person who opened it.
All that said, I am really not a heads up wizard, so I think I’d best defer on that topic to someone like jsup, Denny Lemieux, or LatestLines2, who regularly play 1-on-1 sit-n-go’s online. It is still something important to consider, though, if you are trying to make regular money in STT’s, because the difference between first and second is often 2 buy-ins, which is significant.
Try out my strategy and see if it helps you win more money in STT’s. Any feedback on the message boards would be great, as I am always trying to learn too. Good luck!
The Sit N Go (SNG) is online poker's great gift to the aspiring tournament player. Prior to the SNG, final table experience was hard to come by. You could enter a dozen multi-table tournaments and never find yourself at a final table. Or you could make one or two, only to get knocked out in 8th or 9th place. Adapting to an ever-diminishing number of players at a single table is a crucial skill in tournament poker, and it's a hard experience to find offline without investing a lot of time and money. Online, this experience is a mouse-click away. The SNG's advantages are many. For starters, it's low-cost, or even free. It's also fun, and convenient: You don't need to schedule it -- a SNG starts every time the table fills up -- and it's usually over in less than an hour. It is the flight simulator of Final Table play, and mastering it should be considered mandatory homework for the serious student.
Now that you know why you should play, let's look at how:
The most obvious difference between a SNG and a multi-table tournament is that when someone goes broke in a SNG, there isn't someone waiting to fill their spot. Multi-table play consists mostly of full-table, ring game poker. But as players get eliminated from a SNG, the table gets shorter- and shorter-handed. This reduction in players basically serves to artificially raise the antes. For instance, say you are playing five-handed and the blinds are 100-200: You are paying 300 in blinds for every five hands, or 60 per hand. As soon as someone gets knocked out, you're four-handed. Now you're paying 75 per hand -- a 25% increase -- despite the fact that the blinds have remained the same. Accordingly, you're forced to gamble more, or risk getting blinded out.
Since the size of the blinds relative to your stack size should always play a major role in you hand selection, I recommend starting out with pretty conservative starting hand requirements. This serves two functions: First, the blinds dictate that you play fairly tight early; the blinds are small and you are nine-handed, so they don't come around as often. Second, this helps you establish a tight image, which you hope will pay off later when the blinds are high and you might really need a timely ante steal.
But there is another not-so-obvious reason to play tighter earlier and looser later: The payout structure rewards tight play. Most SNG's pay 50% to first, 30% to second, and 20% to third. This payout structure dictates that you play for third. Why? Looking at the payout structure another way might help. Basically, the payout means that 60% gets awarded once you are down to three players, 20% gets awarded when you get down to two players, and the final 20% gets awarded to the winner. If you can just get to third, you get at least one-third of 60% of the prize pool, or 20%. You've locked up a profit, and you have a chance to win up to 30% more. It's only now that you're in the top three that your strategy should take an abrupt turn. Now it pays to gamble for the win. Let's look at the numbers again: 60% of the prize pool is off the table, and moving up one spot is worth only another 10%. But move up just one more spot and it's worth a whopping 30% extra -- that's three times more for first than it is for second. And with the blinds going up, gambling for the win is even more clearly the correct play.
I see many players employ a nearly opposite strategy. They figure they have nothing to lose, so they go for the quick double-up early. They take chances too soon when, in their view, there's "nothing on the line". Then, once they're in the money, they tighten up, thinking about that extra payout for moving up a spot. If you start to rethink your SNG approach and adopt a "slow early, fast late" strategy, you will see an almost immediate improvement in your results.
Best of luck and see you at the tables,
Sit N Goes Made Easy
By: Howard Lederer - March 14, 2005
Courtesy of www.fulltiltpoker.co
You need A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-K, or A-Q suited, to raise, reraise, or cap it. In short, just put more money in. If you have 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, any suited blackjack or suited 20-point hand, you can call one bet. But if it’s raised to you and you can’t reraise, you can’t call two bets cold; you have to fold. After the flop, you can continue if you have top pair (or could beat top pair), an open-end straight draw, or a flush draw. Anything else, you are done with the hand!
Why Do Professional Poker Players Still Live with Their Moms?
In other words, professional poker works pretty much like the standard capitalist enterprise: you have to be near the top of the pyramid to make a big wage. Notwithstanding the media's rhetoric about the million's of dollars available and the glamour of poker stardom, a player's "wages" are about as skewed as wages in corporate America. A low level pro has plenty in common with a McDonald's burger flipper or a Wal-Mart shelf stocker. In fact, most players also hold other jobs in the legitimate sector to supplement their skimpy poker earnings. Most low level pros make aproximately minimum wage for every hour at the poker tables. And how many burger flippers end up with less money than they started with as a result of flipping burgers?
Consider the cost of a weekend playing poker in Las Vegas:
Flight: $440
2 Nights at MGM Grand: $450
Shuttle to the MGM: $9
Fri. Nite Dinner and Drinks: $50
Two breakfasts: $22
Bar: $12
Monorail Passes: $26
2 Hookers: $370
Saturday dinner and Drinks for 2: $50
Taxis: $32
Various Other Food/Snack/Drinks: $50
Long-Term Parking at airport: $24
Total:$1,535.
How many minimum wage earners can afford that?
Along with the bad pay and high cost, poker players face terrible job conditions. For starters, they have to sit in a poker room all day and "do business" with other players. Little or no family life, back problems, bad diet, hemorrhoids and the stink of smoke are some of the side benefits of sitting for 10 hour stretches at a poker table. Playing in home-games you also risk arrest and, more worrisome, violence.
Professional poker player s have a 1-in-2 chance of divorce and a 1-in-30 chance of fatal heart attack! Compare these odds to being a timber cutter, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls the most dangerous job in the United States. Over four years' time, a timber cutter would stand only a 1-in-200 chance of being killed. Or compare the poker player s odds to those of a death row inmate in Texas, which executes more prisoners than any other state. In 2003, Texas put to death twenty-four inmates-or just 5 percent of the nearly 500 inmates on its death row during that time. Which means that you stand a greater chance of dying while playing in this year's World Series of Poker than you do while sitting on death row in Texas. So if professional poker playing is the most dangerous job in America, and if the salary is near minimum wage, why on earth would anyone take such a job?
My poker page
(Thank's to "Freakonomics" for the inspiration and statisitics)
(To all the critics who do think I hate poker or don't like my math... I've played and at times loved poker for nearly 30 years.)
Where is my money held? All money is managed by the poker room.
How do I get paid? They can send checks or transfer the money directly into your bank account.
Which currencies can I play in? They accept deposits in all major currencies. The poker room currency is US Dollars, and other currencies will be transferred to the poker room using a fair exchange rate (the exchange rate used can be seen in the Cashier section of the poker client); no profits will be made on currency exchanges, and the same rate is applied to both withdrawals and deposits.
Is my transaction secure? Yes it is. Online poker rooms use secure server technology and industry standard encryption to ensure that their financial transactions are as secure as possible.
What is the minimum deposit? Minimum deposits range from $20.00 up to $50.00 depending on the poker room.
Are the online poker rooms secure and honest? Yes! They have made certain that neither your money nor the integrity of the games is compromised. From sophisticated random number generation, to 128-bit encryption, to a range of other measures they have implemented the poker rooms with security as a number one priority.
Do they have promotions, and how do I find out about them? They frequently hold promotions. You will be informed of them by email, the Welcome window when you enter the game, and their Home Page.
Is there a credit card processing fee? No, not at the rooms on this page.
How do I get money onto the site? You must first set up a real money account and then make a deposit using one of the various supported payment mechanisms. When you register with the poker room, your screen name becomes tied to your money account and whenever you take a seat at a real money table you request chips from your money account.
How do I get money out of the poker room? You cash out. Money in the actual poker table is automatically returned to your money account whenever you leave a table. You can make withdrawls from your money account at any time.
Can I transfer money to another player? Yes at most online poker rooms.
(Thanks to the FBI and Joe Navarro)
Lord let me be as a cool window pane set in a church door.
The breath of the hopeful fogging my surface,
While I remain transparent to their sight.
So that I might condense fact
From the vapor of nuance,
In the tremor of their hands
Or the sound of their voice.
Give me vision into their hearts and minds,
As they offer prayers on your green-felt altar.
Let me be your alderman in the poker room,
So that I may gather their donations,
Like the whale strains krill from the sea.
by Mark "Professor77" Pinsker
"Whether he likes it or not, a man's character is stripped bare at the poker table; if the other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life."
Anthony Holden
"Perception is reality."
Immanuel Kant
How do we detect a bluff?
Is it "[f]rom the vapor of nuance,in the tremor of their hands or the sound of their voice?"In fact, many people still misinterpret a significant amount of nonverbal behavior as indicia of a bluff when, in fact, it just may be nervousness or such behavior as face touching that also can indicate honesty.
Traditional methods of detecting bluffs succeed only 50 percent of the time. Going strictly on "gut instinct" or flipping a coin has an equal success rate. However, we can use an alternative approach for detecting a bluff based on four criteria that will significantly improve your odds of detecting a bluff: 1. comfort/discomfort, 2. emphasis, 3. synchrony, and 4. perception management.
Comfort/Discomfort
Comfort is readily apparent in conversations with family members and friends. People sense when others have a good time and when they feel comfortable in their presence. Experiencing comfort in the presence of strangers becomes more difficult, especially in stressful situations, such as during a poker tournament. A person’s level of comfort or discomfort is one of the most important clues players should focus on when trying to establish veracity. Tension and distress most often manifest on bluff. Attempting to disguise their bluff places a distressing cognitive load on them as they struggle to fabricate a "reasonable bet" or answers to what otherwise would be simple questions. When comfortable, an individual’s nonverbal behavior tends to mirror the other players present. For example, if one player leans forward, the opponent in the hand tends to do so as well. Or, if one leans to the side with hands in pockets and feet crossed, the other person may do the same. Subconsciously, people demonstrate their comfort with whom they are playing. When touched, people may touch back to emphasize a point. Some may display their comfort more openly, such as showing more of their torso and the insides of their arms and legs. Players who speak the truth more often display comfort because they have no stress to conceal nor do they have a bluff to make them feel uncomfortable. While seated at a table, players comfortable with each other will move objects aside so that nothing blocks their view. Over time, they may draw closer so that they do not have to talk as loud, and their breathing rhythm, tone of speech, pitch, and general demeanor will become similar. Subtleties of comfort contrast with discomfort. People show discomfort when they do not like what is happening to them, what they are seeing or hearing, or when others compel them to talk about things that they would prefer to keep hidden. People first display discomfort physiologically—heart rates quicken, hairs stand up, perspiration increases, and breathing becomes faster. Beyond the physiological responses, which are autonomic and require very little thinking, people primarily manifest discomfort nonverbally instead of vocally. They tend to move their bodies by rearranging themselves, jiggling their feet, fidgeting, or drumming their fingers when scared, nervous, or significantly uncomfortable. If, while the bluffer appears relaxed and poised, the bluffer continually looks at their hand, sits tensely, or does not move (“flash frozen”), may discern a lack of comfort even though everything may appear normal to the untrained eye. Bluffers show discomfort when they repeatedly talk about finalizing the hand or when disruptions appeal to them. People tend to distance themselves from those with whom they feel uncomfortable. Even while sitting side by side, people will lean away from those with whom they feel uncomfortable, often moving either their torsos or their feet away or toward an exit, which nonverbally exhibits displeasure. These actions can occur in a game due to the subject matter discussed. Likewise, people create artificial barriers with either their shoulders and arms or with inanimate objects in front of them such as their chip stacks. For example, by the end of one session, a very aggressively bluffing player had built a little barrier in front of himself using soda cans, chip stacks, and various piles of stuff. Other clear signs of discomfort include rubbing the forehead near the temple region, squeezing the face, rubbing the neck, or stroking the back of the head with the hand. Players often will show their displeasure by rolling their eyes out of disrespect; picking lint off themselves (preening); talking down to their opponent; giving short answers; becoming resistant, hostile, or sarcastic; or displaying “micro gestures” with indecent connotations, such as “giving the finger.” Eyes also serve as formidable communicators of discomfort, yet players often ignore them during a hand. People use their eyes as a blocking mechanism similar to folding their arms across their chest or turning away from their opponent. In a similar response, when people do not like something they hear, they usually close their eyes as if to block out what they just heard. They do this subconsciously and may do it so often that you do not pay attention to it. People may close their eyes before touching or rubbing them as if to further block or relieve themselves of what they just heard. In most cases, eye blocking proves extremely accurate in highlighting issues problematic to your opponent.
Additionally, when people feel troubled or frustrated or they have a subdued temper tantrum, their eyelids may close or flutter rapidly as an expression of their sentiment. Research also has shown that when people are nervous or troubled, their blink rate increases, a phenomenon often seen with liars under stress. In one case catalogued the bluffer’s blink rate increase from 27 times per minute to 84 times a minute during stressful hand. People learned to look down or away from parental authority as a form of respect when questioned or scolded. You should remain aware of changes in eye contact and eye behavior during hands. They should establish the opponents default pattern of eye behavior during benign questioning then look for changes or indicators of discomfort as the interview progresses, which often gives clues to deception.
Emphasis
When people speak, they naturally incorporate various parts of their body, such as the eyebrows, head, hands, arms, torso, legs, and feet, to emphasize a point for which they feel deeply or emotionally.This movement proves important because, as a rule, people emphasize when genuine.Liars, for the most part, do not emphasize with nonverbals. They will think of what to say and how to deceive, but rarely do they think about the presentation of the lie. When compelled to lie, most people do not realize how much emphasis or accentuation enters into everyday conversations. Emphasis accurately reflects reality or the truth. When blufferrs attempt to fabricate a response, their emphasis looks unnatural or is delayed; they rarely emphasize where appropriate, or they choose to do so only on unimportant matters. People accentuate both verbally and nonverbally in their interactions. They emphasize verbally through voice, pitch, tone, or repetition.On the other hand, they When interpreting eye contact, however, many misconceptions still exist. Little or no eye contact is perceived erroneously by some as a classic sign of deception, especially during a hand, while the truthful should “lock eyes.” This may be accurate for some but not for all. For instance, research shows that Machiavellian people actually will increase eye contact during deception. This may occur because they know that many players look for this feature. Also, some emphasize nonverbally, which can prove even more accurate and useful to you. People who typically use their hands while speaking punctuate their remarks with hand gestures that emphatically illustrate or exclaim. They also may thrust forward, point, or pound the table as they emphasize.Others accentuate with the tips of their fingers, either touching things or gesturing with them. Hand behaviors compliment speech, thoughts, and true sentiments. Raising eyebrows (eyebrow flash) or widening eyes also emphasizes point. When interested, people lean their torsos forward and, often, employ gravity-defying gestures, such as raising up on the balls of their feet as they make a significant or emotionally charged point. While sitting down, some emphasize by raising the knee to highlight important points. Occasionally, people will add emphasis by slapping their knee as it comes up, indicative of emotional exuberance. Gravity-defying gestures symbolize emphasis and true sentiment, both of which liars rarely possess. In contrast, people de-emphasize or show lack of commitment by speaking behind their hands or showing limited facial expression as if to control their countenance because they are not committed to what they are saying. Deceptive people often show deliberative, pensive displays, such as touching fingers to their chin or stroking their cheeks, as though they still are thinking about something. They are evaluating what they did and your reponse, which is inconsistent with honest behavior.
Synchrony
In detecting deception, synchrony plays an important role. Ideally, synchrony (e.g., harmony, congruence, and concordance) should occur between players between what is said vocally and nonverbally; between the circumstances of the moment and what the bluffer is saying; and between events and emotions, including synchrony of time and space. When answering yes/no questions should have congruent head movement supporting what they say. Lack of synchrony often occurs when after you fold people say, “I had the nuts,” while nodding their heads right and left as if to say, “no, I didn't.” Or, when asked, “Are you bluffing?” their heads may bob up and down as they deny. Upon catching themselves in this faux pas, they then reverse their head movement. When observed, these instances are almost comical and amateurish. More often, a mendacious statement, such as “I had the nuts,” precedes a noticeably delayed and less emphatic negative head movement. These behaviors are not synchronous and, therefore, more likely to be equated with a lie. Synchrony should occur between what is being said and the events of the moment. If your opponent interjects with superfluous information or facts totally irrelevant, you should note the disharmony. When the actions are asynchronous with the event and the situation, you may assume that something likely is wrong or the person is stalling for time to perhaps looking for cues from you. Last, synchrony should exist between events, time, and space. A person who delays their actions should come under suspicion.
Perception Management
Perception management occurs both verbally and nonverbally. During a game, liars often use perception management, a concept with which psychopaths are well acquainted, to influence their intended targets of deception. For instance, nonverbally, subjects will yawn excessively as if to show that they feel bored. If the person is sitting, they may slouch or splay out on a couch, stretch their arms, and cover more territory as if to demonstrate their comfort. Verbally, liars will try to vocalize their honesty, integrity, and the implausibility of their bluffing. They will try to “look good” to theother players, so-called close friends. Further, bluffers may self-medicate through the use of alcohol or prescription drugs to appear placid and content. They may change their clothing or hair styles to appear more genuine or more socially conventional. In all of these examples, subjects attempt to manage your perception. People practice perception management every day, such as getting dressed for a date. However, when it manifests itself in a game setting, players should recognize such efforts and question the intent. They may use perception management statements, such as “I can't bluff,” “I am a terrible bluffer", "I am a rock”, “I have never bluffed,” “I would never bluff,” or “I would never do such a thing,” all of which should alert you to the possibility of deception. Other statements, such as “to be perfectly frank,” “to be honest,” “to be perfectly truthful,” or “I was always taught to play the cards not the players,” are solely intended to influence perception.
Conclusion
The detection of deception remains a difficult task. Poker players can enhance their ability to detect deception by focusing on four domains —comfort/discomfort, emphasis, synchrony, and perception management—rather than merely trying to detect traditional signs of deception, which, in some cases, may be misleading. The research in this area over the last 20 years is unequivocal. Nonverbal behaviors, in and of themselves, do not clearly indicate deception. However, when you notice a display of discomfort and a lack of comfort, emphasis, synchrony, and perception management, a greater certitude for assessing deception exists. You can expect players to react poorly in one or twoareas. But, to do so in all four domains indicates communication problems, which may originate from the bluffer’s antipathy toward you or result from guilty knowledge of their bluff.
