Posture Tells
If there’s anything I hope you’ve learned from this column, it is that our bodies are constantly transmitting information. From the movements of every part of our body, we give away critical information. Of course, that includes our torso and how we sit. Our brain is constantly assessing the world around us; running in the background like good software. If you are not careful, it will react to your hole cards and the community cards in ways you may not intend.
Sitting still during a long session is mission: impossible. An hour, sure, however, once you’re a couple levels deep into the second day of a tournament, your body gets restless and needs pacifying through stretching, leaning, adjusting, etc.
We try to comfort ourselves by moving into different positions and obviously during a night of play you’re going to change your posture. You slouch, sit up straight, and lean back into your chair, but honestly, are you really thinking about how you sit? Consciously, probably not, but your brain, especially your limbic brain, never takes a break. It is always looking out for you.
Your subconscious mind determines how engaged you will be in a situation. It analyzes and transmits how far away you will sit from the other people around you, without you doing the calculus. It will assess any violations of your space and will call you to action and alert you to adjust in one way or another. For example, if the person next to you places his iPod too close to your “space,” your subconscious will tell you to move slightly away, stare at him, or ask him to move over. In any case, you will react. If you don’t believe me, just try it. Move your drink over into someone else’s space and watch what happens to their torso.
During a recent trip to Las Vegas I had the privilege of playing with Sam Simon and a few of his friends. One of the players in the game is a famous poker player and as always, I will keep her anonymous. As expected, she had a huge chip lead over the rest of the table. During one hand the entire table was talking and suddenly, after the turn card came out, I noticed that she was talking to the rest of us from a much lower place than she had just been. After the card was placed on the felt, her body sank down. Her torso went from upright to slouched. I wasn’t in the hand and it was a friendly game, so I said, “Someone is hurting right now,” while looking at her.
Sure enough, she saw the light of day as her low pair was beaten by a fl ush. Unfortunately, it took her until the river to let the hand go. After it was over she asked me what I saw. “Suddenly, your body just sank in reaction to that card,” I said. “Was it that obvious?” she asked. “It was to me and it will be to everyone else after I write article about it.”
It was amazing to note that even the best in the game have diffi culty recognizing such a simple tell. Our posture, whether we sit up or suddenly buckle over, is governed by our limbic brain. We do it all day long – we just don’t notice it. When someone receives good news their internal excitement is refl ected in their posture in a matter of degrees or inches. When you hear bad news, your shoulders sink and your posture shrinks. This is something psychiatrists have known for a very long time and look for in patients to see if they are making progress, especially when dealing with depression.
This theory isn’t tough to prove from the comfort of your own home. If you play online, the next time you get dealt aces or kings see if your body sits up just a little bit higher, or if you get engaged a little bit more with your computer. The change in your own posture will be noticeable and once you recognize the changes based on your own reaction, it will be easy to see the changes in your opponents.
Keep an eye out for players that look at their cards and sit up immediately. At the same time, if your opponents look at their cards and their overall posture falls, don’t expect them to play the hand out. Posture can dictate the engagement at any point of a hand, so instead of watching the cards come out on the fl op, turn and river, look at your opponents. No matter when you look at the center of the table, the card will be the same.
While you’re playing you should be aware that you will be constantly adjusting in ways you may not realize. You may sit up as some major players do when they are strong and may sink low when weak. Just be attentive to the reality that others will be watching you and your posture. Of all nonverbals, your posture is not as hidden as you may think.
As with everything else I recommend, the more repetitive and predictable your actions become, the less your opponents will continue to focus on you. They’ll move onto someone who will give up more information. In relation to posture, try to fi nd a position that is comfortable and echo that position as much as possible. If you fi nd you are giving information away with your posture, get up and walk around then sit down again. That distraction will take pressure off of you and may realign what others perceive. Just be aware that over time you will send various messages with your posture by sitting low or sitting high. Manage this nonverbal carefully and your bankroll will be safer than ever before.
