The Female Factor at the Poker table: part II
By: Joe Navarro with Marvin Karlins

In last month’s column I pointed to the growing number of women making a living playing poker and examined some of the reasons for their success at the tables. This time around, I’ll identify a few poker tells that women display through their nonverbals – information that might come in handy the next time the female sitting across the table raises you all in and you’re contemplating whether to call or fold.

Pacifying Behaviors Involving the Neck: Neck touching and/or stroking is one of the most significant and frequent pacifying behaviors we use in responding to stress. I have observed over the decades that there are gender differences in the way men and women use the neck to pacify themselves. Men usually are more robust in their movements, grasping or cupping the front of their neck (under the chin) with their hand or stroking the sides or the back of the neck with their fingers. Sometimes they will adjust their necktie knot or shirt collar. Women do things differently. When they pacify using the neck, they will sometimes touch, twist, or otherwise manipulate necklaces they are wearing. The other major way women neck-pacify is by covering their suprasternal notch with their hand. The suprasternal (which comes from terms meaning “above” and “breastbone”) notch is the hollow area right below the Adam’s apple that is sometimes referred to as the neck dimple. Women touch this part of their neck and/or cover it when they feel stressed; for example, when they feel threatened, uncomfortable, or anxious at the poker table.

This covering of the suprasternal notch is a relatively significant tell. It can be used to detect when a person is bluffing, both in life and in poker. I remember one FBI investigation in which we thought an armed and dangerous fugitive might be hiding out at his mother’s home. Another agent and I went to the woman’s house, and when we knocked at the door, she came outside to meet us. We showed our identification and began asking her a series of questions. When I inquired, “Is your son in the house?” she put her hand to her suprasternal notch and said, “No, he’s not.” I noted her behavior, and we continued with our questioning. After a few minutes I asked, “Is it possible that while you were at work, your son could have sneaked into the house?” Once again, she put her hand up to her neck dimple and replied, “No, I’d know that.” I was now confident that her son was in the house, because the only time she moved her hand to her neck was when I suggested that possibility. To make absolutely sure my assumption was correct, we continued to speak with the woman until, as we prepared to leave, I made one last inquiry: “Just so I can finalize my records, you’re positive he’s not in the house, right?” For a third time, her hand went to her neck as she affirmed her earlier answer. I was now certain the woman was lying. A search of the house turned up her missing son hiding in a bedroom closet.

There’s an interesting footnote to this neck tell. When I was shooting a television special with Annie Duke, I noticed that when something disturbed her, she pacified by covering her suprasternal notch. I said to her, “You really need to watch that neck-touching response, because if I can see it, so can your opponents at the poker table. I suspect you might display that behavior when you’re bluffing, and other players might decipher it and realize you have a weak hand.” After I identified the behavior, she actually recognized she had been touching her neck in such a manner and said she would make an effort to stop. To her credit – she is an incredible person and poker player – I haven’t seen her doing it at the tables since our discussion.

Tells of the Feet: As I emphasize in our book Read ’em and Reap, the feet are the most honest part of our body; thus foot nonverbals normally provide very reliable information. Women don’t move their feet around as much as men do, so you don’t see females with “happy feet” (feet that jiggle and bounce around) with the same frequency as you do against male competitors. However, what you do see in women is a tendency to really get into the “starter’s position” (feet tilted forward, like a runner ready to start a race) when they have a good hand or are going to engage in pot. They are also more likely than men to wrap their ankles around the legs of their chair in order to restrain themselves when they’re bluffing, a behavior that gives them a greater sense of security.

Steepling of the Hands: Just as in real life, women poker players, for some unknown reason, don’t steeple as often as males (fingers touching each other, palms spread like a church steeple). Thus, when they do, it is highly significant (a more reliable tell than with men) and indicative of confidence. I have noted several women poker professionals who will do a very quick steeple when community cards hit the table. In this case, the steeple is a sign that the card(s) helped them; and if they bet on subsequent rounds, opponents beware: You might well be facing a monster hand! Again steepling is usually a sign of high confidence.

Head Tilt: Normally, when we’re comfortable, we tilt our heads to one side or the other. When it comes to poker, women engage in significantly more head tilt behavior than men. I’ve noticed that both professional and amateur female players tilt their heads when they’re extremely confident at the table, usually signifying they have strong cards. Head tilt is usually associated with courtship behaviors and indicates comfort. If a woman goes all in on a hand and then tilts her head, she has just transmitted that she probably has the nuts (high comfort with her cards). Calling such a bet might be hazardous to your bankroll.

Skin Flush:Women, more then men, tend to experience skin flush (or skin blotching) when they are excited: for example, when they spot pocket aces or make the nuts. At two of our poker camps I observed women whose necks flushed red so vividly they could be spotted two tables away. The next time you see a woman with skin flush it might mean she has a royal flush to go along with it, and caution might be the best course of action.

Change in Breathing: Players, when they have a monster hand, will sometimes “ventilate” or “oxygenate”: begin breathing more rapidly and/or heavily because they are preparing to take action (play the hand). Men and women both do this, but in females it is often more pronounced. Also, this change in breathing is easier to spot in a woman than in a man. Thus, when playing against a female opponent, changes in patterns of breathing is a more significant tell than in their male counterparts.

Pregnancy Nonverbals: You might not believe you’ll be sitting across from many pregnant women at the poker table, but as increasing numbers of females join the poker ranks, you never know. I did: There were two pregnant women sitting at two separate tables where I was playing recently, and when they had weak or marginal hands in the game, I noticed something I had never seen before. Rather than cover their suprasternal notch to pacify themselves when struggling or distressed, they immediately moved their hands to cover their fetus. This is very significant because if you are, in fact, a pregnant female poker player, you may not be aware that you’re giving off this tell. Of course, pregnant women will often reach down with their hands and cover the fetus for any number of reasons, including the fact that the fetus just gave the woman a healthy kick! Thus, in a poker game, this hand-to-fetus move should only be considered significant if it occurs as a reaction to a specific action taking place in the game (e.g., after seeing the flop and/or a big raise). Something to think about...

As is always the case, all nonverbal behaviors, including the “tells” discussed above, must be taken in context and considered in light of the caveats discussed in Read ’em and Reap. Next month, in a final column on the female factor at the poker table, I want to discuss some of the unique challenges women face when they sit down to play, and what they can do to overcome them.

Joe Navarro served as a Special Agent with the FBI for 25 years. You can read his book Phil Hellmuth Presents Read ’em and Reap (HarperCollins) available at all major online and brick and mortar booksellers. Joe welcomes readers’ questions at his navarropoker.com website. Dr. Marvin Karlins holds a PhD in Psychology from Princeton University and is currently Professor of Management at the University of South Florida’s School of Business Administration. An avid poker player, Professor Karlins enjoys answering inquiries at mkarlins@aol.com.