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Who is harder to read in a live game?
I've noticed that there are generally two types of people sitting at a live game or tourney. There are those wearing sunglasses who try their absolute hardest to never give away even the slightest change of expression. To them a poker face is absolutely dead, devoid of all emotion. Think Chris Ferguson as an example. Then there are those who are chatty, smile, and obviously are having a good time. To them a poker face is simply not acting any differently no matter what they're holding. Think Daniel Negraneau (sp?) as an example. So which type is harder to read? Does the great stone face just make it easier to pick up on extremely subtle differences? Or does the happy go lucky attitude ensure that some information will inevitably be given away?
Public Comments
- I think the chatty, happy go lucky type is easier to read, they do tend to give it away a bit, but I have also seen Negraneau put on a stone cold poker face too.
- If you're at a table with Chris Ferguson, Daniel Negraneau, and other players of their caliber, you can pretty much forget about getting a read on them. A guy like Daniel has discovered and removed all physical tells he has, and the only reason he's chatty is because he knows he's not going to give anything away. At a real game with normal people, the emotive person (chatty guy) is much easier to read in general. This is because it is much easier for the average person to develop a routine a la Chis Ferguson than it is for them to remove all tells from their normal personality. When chatty guy who's been having a conversation with you the whole game suddenly won't look you in the eye, it's often a tell. When chatty guy suddenly stops being chatty it's often a tell. When chatty guy throws his chips into the pot a different way, it's often a tell. When you're sitting with the statue man like Ferguson, all you can really look for is breaks in his routine. Did he throw out chips faster, slower, or the same as usual? Did he count out his chips a different way? Is he playing faster or slower than normal? These are things a skilled player can pick up on, but are also things the average person can master a lot more easily.
