Do you ever have that itch? The itch to wager, to head to the closest gambling den, to discover a high stakes casino game of Texas hold em, to sit at a Black jack table for hours on end. I love that itch. And I really like to scratch it.
I also really like to watch people bet. No two poker faces seem alike. When I gamble I like to believe I put on a poker face that is impenetrable. But I know I’ve particular mannerisms. For one, the only time I smoke cigarettes is when I wager on poker or Chemin de fer. And then I smoke. Except I smoke regardless of whether I am winning or losing, no matter whether I have a very good hand or bad.
I once played in a weekly poker game. The game was often 5 card draw. There was a gentleman who bet with us each and every week who usually wore a hat. When he was dealt a excellent hand, subconsciously, he would begin touching and wagering with his hat. Needless to say, he never won.
The very best poker gambler I ever saw was a guy who manufactured more actions and gestures at a poker table than anyone I had ever met. He was impeccable in the way he dressed. Always an expensive suit and tie, footwear shined and nails trimmed. He was fastidious in this manner. And he was always brushing his pant leg or rubbings his hands or stacking his chips in neat little piles.
I use to examine him for hours. I would tried to see if I could notice his tell. Selecting lint off his jacket- did this mean he was bluffing? Stacking his chips in a short pile – did this imply he had a good hand?
Many years later I bumped into him inside a bar in Chicago and we had a beverage. I asked him if he have been aware of all those movements he created or if they were subconscious. He told me that every single little thing he did at a poker table was deliberate. He said that everybody is usually checking out everybody else’s poker face. They’re trying to detect the the tell.
So his system was to provide them lots to believe about. His reasoning was if they were pondering about him picking a piece of fuzz off his vest and what it meant they sure weren’t pondering about their cards.
His program was distraction. And it worked for him. By no means give up a technique that functions for you.