Practicing The Poker Face, Part III (For The Cheaters)
Cheaters, especially those who deal with machines, have very little use for a poker face. In fact, most of their use for the poker face comes when they are close to being found out, which generally means that they haven’t been cheating that well.
For those that deal in cards, cups, or dice, however, the poker face is essential to survival. Most dealers can spot basic cheaters…and will be quick to call foul.
Unfortunately, practicing this kind of poker face is rather hard. You can’t very well go to a casino (even if it is out of time), intentionally cheat your ass off, and then expect everything to be okay — usually, by this point, you’re already in jail, or faced with heavy fines.
So how can good, honest cheaters come up with a way to hone their skills without avoiding police? There really isn’t a safe way that I’ve found, because, lets face it, of all of the Liar’s arts, cheating has the most ramifications for practice. So, for a person to become a really good cheater, I’d suggest practicing your skills more than your poker face, and, once you have them honed, starting with a low-stress, low-risk environment (like a boardwalk, or a bar) to ply your trade in. You might also want to go and do the PUA and C-Artistry exercises, because they will still make you slicker than you are.
Some general rules to live by, though:
-Practice your trade in a mirror. If you can see what you’re doing, then so can your dealer and fellow players.
-Your poker face is a whole body thing. Unless you have telekinesis, you want to make damn sure that security cameras and interested parties don’t even come close to suspecting you. Your best way to remain uncaught is to remain unnoticed. (There are exceptions to this, but we’ll get to that in the discussions on Peacocking).
-If a crack in your face is found, and someone accuses you of cheating, don’t panic…just keep playing for a bit, and play fair and square for a good long while, just in case.
-You will get better, both at your art, and the associated, ephemeral Poker Face, with time and training. Just don’t jump in over your head.
Thats all the advice I can really offer. Now, I know a good deal of you who read this are mostly silent, and email rather than comment, but I invite any cheaters who have better methods for practicing the poker face to speak up. This isn’t my primary area of expertise, and I’d rather you guys talk about how you might practice, for those just starting out who might read.
For now, however, I’m your host Lodinkinni, and this has been another presentation of Social Falsification: Tales from the Liar’s Underground. Tune in next time, when we begin talking about Peacocking, in all of its glorious forms.