Cards are just a tool , which rather melts into the strategy that you can build with them to win the match. Strategy that will be linked to the internal schemes of the game itself, but also and above all to the psychological dynamics that are triggered in the players.
It’s all a matter of psychology , since, like any other type of competition, the key to poker is knowing how to manage stress. We then have a series of tricks for those who approach the green table as a passionate, non-professional.
Practice
It will be trivial but it is essential to understand what contexts you feel comfortable in, the opponents you prefer to relate to, the way to minimize the small collateral stresses and focus on the game itself.
Observe
Even the most experienced players, despite trying to simulate any emotion, end up betraying themselves, but these are moments and you must learn to recognize them. Mario always closes his right eye when he bluffs, Luca bites his upper lip if he has good cards and Claudia puts her hand to her left ear if she has almost decided to fold.
It is mainly the hands that betray, as they are actively involved in the game, to bet, draw and discard. This sort of attention to the other has often been the subject of research and more and more studies identify in the great professionals of the game what is now commonly defined as social intelligence.
Play Chess
You certainly did not expect this. We have blown you away (another key poker player trick).
Yet straight from Las Vegas and from the world poker tournaments, the famous WSOP, comes the confirmation. The chessboard helps the mind to focus, to develop patience and control, and more and more professional poker players are former chess champions. Furthermore, as we know, the brain reacts positively to lateral thinking (creative problem solving), so if you are inexperienced in both games it may be a good opportunity to learn them simultaneously.
Disorient The Opponent
This is really the last phase, the one in which you will now be so good as to be able not only to control your gestures but also to transmit false messages. Having a strong hand and letting a minimum of bluffing anxiety leak out, just for a moment, can be really decisive!
What to say then, except that these tricks will be useful as long as you dedicate yourself seriously to the game of poker in order to do the most important thing: to sew your own strategy.
Only you will be able to finely understand which are the strengths of your personality that must be cultivated, and which are the weaknesses to be masked, and the good news is that this will not only help you in the game but also in everyday life.
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