How to Have a Poker Face

Learn how to put on your best poker face and fool everyone.

Have been playing poker and not been able to hold your excitement or grief?

If you watch poker on TV you will see some of the best poker faces in the world. Don't get discouraged - you don't need to be a professional player to have a great poker face.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. You can have the best poker face in the world but your voice gives you away. Try to talk as normally as you possibly can. It is easy to tell how a player is feeling by the tone and pitch of their voice. If you are playing one on one, try to psych out the other player. Let your eyes do the talking!

2. Just remember to relax. Regardless of how much money you are playing for, at the end of the day it's just a game. Keep your mind clear and you will play better. Relaxation is the key to this game. Keep your cool - do not show your emotions and you are on your way to a great poker face.

3. Another tip to having a great poker face is to keep an emotionless demeanor. You want a tough expression that says "I do this all the time". You're the scary boss and the other players are the interns. Just stay focused and be mysterious.

   If you are playing a friendly game with friends and family for just pocket change and bragging rights, you can loosen up a bit of course. In more professional games, just keep a straight face no matter what is going on in your hand or around you.

4. Don't be a sore winner. If you watch poker on the television you will see the winners usually shouting for joy and hugging their family members in the audience. This is acceptable for that situation as they usually just won a prize that is worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

   However, if you are just playing for fun with friends, don't rub it in their face that they lost. It is just a game after all, so smile and be courteous to the other players. This also applies to other parts of the game, like if you won a big hand. So keep your poker face and be kind to the other players.

5. Do not be a sore loser either, again the professional players you see on television often curse and say awful things about the other players. Keep in mind that they are getting paid to put on such a show by their sponsors. A normal player should never do such things so keep smiling and go with the flow. Tell yourself that you will win the next one and move on, keeping your poker face firmly in place.

6. The other players will try to psyche you out; don't let this get to you. This game is mostly based on instincts so go with your gut feeling, not what the other player is telling you. The more you try to logically think about it, the hard it is to keep your poker face and win the game.

7. Practice your poker face in front of a mirror or during a friendly game. Other tips to keep players from reading you are to not twitch or fidget, do not twirl your hair, and control your breathing. Keeping your poker face can be hard to do. You win a big pot and you really want to jump and shout for joy. Just keep good sportsmanship in mind as you celebrate - and as you lose.

   Be sure to take a look around while you're here for more poker tips and information.