I Have People Skills
People skills are a big must in the world of poker.
In many cases if you keep completely to yourself it can become a weakness just like talking way too much. Poker requires the perfect amount of enticement; to keep the other players guessing just what type of personality you have and what type game strategy you prefer.
It’s easier to think of the people skills required in poker as a game of cat and mouse. The opponents are going to attempt to read everything about you from the moment you take a seat at the table, especially if they are veterans. The trick is letting them see only what you want them to see. For instance if you have a good hand, you want to successfully give off a tell or personality trait that will falsely alert the opponents you are bluffing. At all times you need to be highly aware of your own actions, and control exactly what they see and hear. It’s almost like you have to censor yourself completely; just like you do around your in-laws.
Players also need to be able to read the actions and comments of their opponents. This in turn requires people skills. You need to learn how to observe everything about a person, from their mannerisms and movements, to their facial expressions and nervous ticks. A very good poker player can sit at a table and size up their opponents within the first few minutes. Veterans of the sport are well aware when an opponent is bluffing; it’s simply due to the fact that everyone has a nervous tick or abnormal expression of some kind when they are lying. Good veterans can pick out this type of “tell” and know exactly how to play their next move. The problem is, if you have no people skills, there is no way of knowing just what “tells” to look for.
The best way to practice and hone people skills is to position yourself around well…people. I know it’s a scary thought, but unfortunately it is the only way. Café’s, and mom and pop restaurants are some of the best places to go, even coffee shops are great. Sit down for a while and just study those around you, what they do when they talk, their postures, their expressions, even the things they say to others. Then, sit down at a poker table and apply the same exact rules but instead of playing the game, just observe. Study everything you possibly can about the players at the table. Teach yourself how to pick out strange habits and actions after other players make a move; they almost always do it subconsciously. As soon as you learn to observe everything going on you’ll also learn to become more aware of your own habits and actions. That will also allow you to control your own mannerisms much better.
Then during your next poker game you can use everything you have learned to pick out exactly what strategies and moves your opponents are going to use next. When an opponent is bluffing, especially if they are novice, you will then be able to catch a glimpse of all the signs and that is exactly how you win a game of poker.
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People Skills
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