Forget your poker face—it’s your arms that may actually reveal your cards, suggests a new study from Stanford University.
College students watched clips of professional gamblers in action, then rated the quality of the pros’ cards. When only a player’s arms were visible, the untrained viewers were surprisingly accurate in judging the quality of his hand, based solely on the way he pushed his chips toward the center of the table.
“Intentions change the way we move in very basic ways,” says study author Michael Slepian. “So when people are pushing chips into the center of the table to make a bet, if they have different reasons for doing so—a good hand versus a bad hand—they might do that ever so slightly differently.” And because most players (professionals included) don’t realize this, it may may never occur to them to monitor the way they move their arms.
Compare that to the poker face, which even amateur guys know how to pull off. “Players are probably very aware of their facial expressions and larger bodily movements, like leaning forward or backward,” says Slepian.
In a second study, the researchers found that the smoothness of players’ arm movements (as judged by students) when they pushed their chips forward predicted their likelihood of winning. As for what counts as “smooth,” Slepian says “it’s probably some constellation of not hesitating [before pushing the chips], and non-jerky movement.” He also notes that speed or even the way players grasp their chips could factor in.
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- WATCH: Your Best Poker Face
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- LISTEN: Daniel Negreanu on the Men’s Health Podcast
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