Halloween often brings an enjoyable celebration for kids and adults. No matter your age, dashing around in a mask and costume produces a certain emotional excitement. Getting a chance to temporarily dress up and act out the persona of a clown, witch, superhero, or monster, is an appealing, enjoyable exercise remarkably different from the usual daily grind of work and school.
Poker is appealing too, in a fashion that's similar to Halloween. A diversion from the usual daily grind, many poker players bring a very different personality to the poker felt than they display in their usual lives. A meek and lovable grandmother may become a hyper-aggressive, dangerous player when playing no-limit poker. A hard partying college student might be close-lipped while playing superbly tight poker. A young man who is just starting a career may be a subordinate at his job, but he plays the role of table bully and pushes his opposition around every night while playing poker online.
Interestingly, many of our opponents will assume that our poker styles match our usual personality. When a 20-something male bellies up to the table and immediately looks for the cocktail waitress to order a stiff drink, his opponents are likely to assume he'll be a loose player before he even looks at his first hand. When a white-haired older gentleman quietly eases his way into his seat without making eye contact with any others, the opposition will often immediately peg him as a very tight player. It is a very normal human reaction to judge others by this external "mask." Keen poker players understand and take advantage of these sorts of hasty assumptions by displaying a mask that does not always mimic their poker style.
We are instantly judged at the poker tables by our opponents, based seemingly on factors ranging from the clothes we wear, our facial expressions, the volume and pattern of our speech, the drinks we order, the way we stack our chips, as well as our age and occupation.
If you are aware that others will categorize you based on these external presentations, you should immediately begin to take advantage of this by perpetuating their hunches on the surface while actually playing differently. If you know that your playing style is usually fast and aggressive, wear the mask of a meek, scared, and conservative person. If you are usually a tight player, there would be nothing better for your game than to burst toward the table exuding bravado, high energy, and an air of cockiness.
The mask we present will be hastily accepted as a reality by most of our opponents at the table, at least until evidence of our actual self or face discounts those assumptions. In the meantime you can secure a few valuable pots.
We enjoy wearing costumes each Halloween time. Likewise, we can enjoy trying on poker personas at the tables. Present the mask that you want others to see to your opponents, but do your best to hide your true poker style. By understanding the way others perceive you, you can trick others into treating you with their chips.
John Carlisle is a National Certified Counselor with a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from West Virginia University. Contact John at carlisle14@hotmail.com.
