The Role of Psychology in Poker: Mastering the Mind Game

You might have read the best Baccarat strategies to win like a pro and poker tips for better gameplay, but do you understand the critical role psychology plays in casino games like poker? This article shall introduce casino players to some poker game psychology tricks. There are some books written about the psychology of poker. For example, “The Psychology of Poker” by Schoonmaker, Alan N. which was published in the year 2000. Understanding your opponent’s mindset will enable you to discern their thoughts, strategy, hidden trump cards, and determine whether they are bluffing or holding a strong hand. This makes it vital in playing poker because the game involves a lot of confrontation and decision-making. Most experienced poker players possess strong psychological skills, enabling them to avoid tilt, keep their emotions in check, and remain unfazed by the provocation of other players.

Maria Konnikova, a psychology PhD and former professional poker player who had won around $ 500,000 in her career showed a great example of the correlation between poker and psychology. Funny to say, the aim of her joining the industry was not to be rooted in gambling but to understand the psychological aspects of the game.

Emotional Control

In a game of poker, controlling ones’ emotions is the most basic and important aspect of any casino game. Yet not everyone can do it well, some people would unintentionally reveal their cards straight away through their reactions. When they got bad cards, their face immediately darkens, when they got good cards, their face immediately becomes bright, and when trying to bluff, they sweat like horses. If any of the above reminds you of yourself, please do not play poker… Emotional control is the first aspect a player needs to master before playing poker. All you need is to avoid tilt and not let your cards or opponents influence your emotions.

One of the ways to calm yourself down in a poker game is to practice deep breathing. By breathing in slowly, holding your breath for 3 seconds, and exhaling slowly at the end. Besides, some poker players might find it useful when they repeat a mantra such as “I am relaxed”, or “I am calm” which helps them maintain composure.

Bluffing

One of the common poker psychology tricks will be bluffing. Bluffing is the best opportunity to make a winning bet even if you have a weaker hand during a poker round. This poker strategy is a high-risk move because you should be relatively sure that your opponent is going to fold their cards because of the bluffing. A single-round bluff might not be enough to make your opponent’s fold. That is why a players’ judgment is important when assessing the risks of such strategy.

The best time to bluff is often pre-flop. Tight players, meaning players that only enter hands with strong starting cards, are more likely to fold to your aggression unless they have a premium hand. In a late position, rising to a table where everyone else has folded gives the impression of a strong hand. It signals confidence, as most players wouldn’t risk raising with weak cards.  Besides, you can bluff when there is a low pair on the board. For example, in a pair of sixes, the likelihood of someone holding one of the two remaining cards to complete trips (third 6) is relatively low. This creates a great opportunity to bluff and make other players believe you have the third six.

• Don’t be afraid to keep the pressure on even in a late betting round
• Do not ever call when you try to bluff because you should bet or raise to let others believe you have strong cards on hand.

Reading opponents 

Next, the ability to read opponents is one of the most crucial skills that can improve your poker gameplay. By analyzing your opponents, players will be able to understand and predict behavioural patterns which gives a better chance at winning the game. Therefore, paying close attention to the actions of other players is important in poker. One quick way to assess new players is by observing their eyes. Inexperienced players tend to focus on their cards and let their gaze wander, whereas seasoned and experienced poker players remain attentive to the overall dynamics and closely observe other players. It is important to observe your opponent to find out whether they are bluffing. When you see your opponent drink after they place a bet or bluff, that probably is a sign of a guilty conscience after a bluff or lie. Besides, if your opponent starts to fidget their chips more than they normally do, or looking down at their stacks, they are probably bluffing.

Body Language

Body language is something that you can observe in a game of poker to see if your opponents are bluffing.  There are some gestures to observe whether your opponents are bluffing:

1. Touch or rub their nose

• Scientists in Chicago, USA discovered that when people lie, a chemical called catecholamine will be released. When a person lies, his or her blood pressure will rise and cause the cells in the nose to swell which triggers the nerve in the nasal to send a tingling sensation and lead to itchiness, therefore people will rub their nose more often when they bluff to relieve the itching.

2. Cover their mouth

• Indicates the player tried to suppress themselves from speaking those lies.

3. Rub their eyes

• The brain attempts to prevent the eyes from witnessing deception through the gesture of rubbing eyes.

4. Putting fingers on their lips

• The gesture of placing a finger between the lips reflects a subconscious longing for the sense of security provided by a mother’s embrace because it is associated with the act of baby breastfeeding.

5. Scratching their ears

• Scratching the ear also signifies that the person is in a state of anxiety.

Timing

When you try to read your opponents, one of the important elements to observe is their timing—the timing of betting. Your timing can provide information to observant players. Conversely, you can interpret a players’ timing to gain insight into their intentions.

If they place instant bets or raises without a second thought, this is probably a pre-planned move. Many inexperienced poker players will use quick actions to bluff and make it obvious. Although quick bets can signal confidence and strength, if used too short of time for thinking, they are probably bluffing from aggressive players.

On the other hand, deliberate hesitation might be another bluff. A long pause followed by a large bet could be a bluff to fake a strong hand and show that some time for consideration has been made to make larger bets. In the end, poker is all about acting.

Consistency in a player’s might also be a point to focus on. You should always try to compare your opponents’ timing on earlier hands, if they always initially took their time but suddenly act much faster, it could be an indication of a bluff.

Based on the same principle, you can use timing to your advantage to delay or quicken your bets as a means to mislead other opponents.

Size of bets

To improve your overall poker gameplay, you will need to observe your opponents' playstyles and their previous betting patterns. In poker, players mainly fall into two categories: aggressive and passive players. Aggressive players are more likely to bluff with larger bets while passive players might do the opposite. Players should always compare their size of bets when they have stronger hands versus when they are trying to bluff. Then, you probably can sense something. Below are some common bet patterns that you can indicate a bluff.

1. Uncommon large bets: Bluffs often involve unusually large bets to scare opponents and lead them to fold their cards. If the bet compared to the pot size is unreasonable or does not align with the board texture, it could be a bluff.
2. Small bets on draw-heavy boards: Opponents might bet small to sound you out about it, then later set up a bluff.
3. Rapidly Changing Bet Sizes: If the size increases but you notice the board texture did not change much to justify the move, or they bet small on earlier streets and suddenly increase their bets without any improvement on the board, that could most probably be a bluff.