The Importance Of Street Smarts

For some pros, it's like a piece of the equipment.

Boxers generally use headgear when they spar. Some observers feel it doesn't exactly really provide an appreciable level of protection, but instead gives the fighter a false sense of security.

Is it the same with the sunglasses? Do some players feel so "protected" because they're behind a certain "guard" that other tells - those that may not involve the eyes - may wind up showing themselves a little easier?

When players wear the glasses, one of the advantages they claim is that their opponents can't see it when they're looking at them. But then again, some players WANT an opponent to see them glaring during a tense and critical moment. It makes some sense, because it puts more pressure on the opponent, and makes him a lot more conscious about what he's doing. Even though tells are defined as something sub-conscious, being TOO self-conscious sometimes makes people do things that give off their intentions as well.

Is there such a thing as "drawing a tell?" Maybe, if you're dealing with an inexperienced player. But if you try, you'll have to have enough savvy on your side that you know how to interpret the signals you come across.

You're never going to be absolutely sure about what's going on during a hand, but you have to develop a "feel" for what you see before you.

That's really what the game of poker is all about. In spite of the fact that sophisticated math has made tremendous inroads into the game - something that is discussed at length in another story in this series - It's not about hard-and-fast "formulas." It's not about "one size fits all" solutions. It's not about rigid decision-making, as it is in the game of blackjack. It's about experience. It's about street smarts. It's about conning someone every once in a while. It's about human nature. It's sometimes less about the cards you're holding in your hand, and more about what the OTHER guy's holding in HIS hand.

So study people.