Social Falsification

In many practices, there are points at which one person has very obviously demonstrated dominance over his oponent/mark/dealer/target. These points, which I have termed D.O.D.s are essential to proper C-Artistry, and can be exceedingly useful in PU as well. By defining your target’s frame, you control her desire. By dominating a dealer, you can keep him from calling your bluffs. By making your mark rely on you, you can fleece him with more finese. These statements mark the basic principle that will be dealt with in the next several posts. These posts, however, will be theory-light, and geared towards practical application of DODs, as well as the bits of theory expressed so far in this blog.

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.

There is nothing so universally necessicary as the poker face. No matter what form of lying you practice, or what type of social manipulation you’re working (they’re both the same thing, really. Pick whichever one your conscience prefers), the poker face is always, always, ALWAYS needed.

Now, there are some misconceptions about the poker face, to be sure. In the minds of some, its a cold, clear tactic, devoid of any and all expression. To others, its any directly misleading face, that stops the true nature of a person’s intent from being visible. Everyone agrees, however, that a poker face, however you define it, is key to keeping your mark/target/HB11 from realizing exactly what you’re up to.

Pick Up Artists: Your poker face is the face of your persona. When you walk out there, exuding confidence, a poker player’s poker face isn’t going to help you much. But making your visible emotions and reactions match that personality you’ve worked so hard to obtain: priceless.

C-Artists: Your poker face may be emotionally charged, and really varies depending on what you’re selling. If your clients see you as being anything other than what they want to see you as, you’re toast.

Cheaters: Yours is the original, the basic poker face. No emotion: Stone Cold. You don’t want anyone to know what you’re up to, or know that you have any part in the roulette wheel stopping at 7 red every round. You just jumped on it and got lucky. That hand of 7 aces? Yeah. Gotta keep your hand up, your eyes narrow, and your voice silent.

I’m your host Lodinkinni, and this has been another presentation of ‘Social Falsification: Tales From The Liar’s Underground.’ Our next few posts will be something of a departure from the norm, but once they’ve been completed, we’ll resume with ‘Practicing the Poker Face.’

Cheaters are pretty far from being the big fish of the Liar’s Underground. In fact, although some make lucrative livings swindling people, the majority of them don’t gain a lot from their art..or at least, not much more than a person making a nine to five living makes from their own. I won’t be dealing too much with them and their ilk on here, but a few of the techniques that I bring up for their more advanced peers are also useful for them. Also..some of the most important advancements for the other areas of the Underground come from their arts, and are adapted to fit the rest of our happy little underworld.

Sorry guys…you don’t get as much writing time as the rest of the underworld…at least, not unless I find some really worthy topics for your school of art. Have some suggestions, or think I’m downplaying you too much? Please, leave comments, tell me where the art in cheating surpasses my evaluation of it. I’d like to think that I’m wrong, and that every art has equal merits…but I just haven’t seen it yet.

That having been said, I’m your host, Lodinkinni, and this has been another post of ‘Social Falsification: Tales From The Liar’s Underground.’ I’ll be seeing you next time, when we’ll discuss ‘The Importance Of The Poster Face’.

Recommended Websites:
Card Cheaters.com: http://www.cardcheaters.com/
Pokerology.com: http://www.pokerology.com/articles/cardcheating.htm

Recommended Readings:
Phantoms Of The Card Table by David Britland