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Poker Face
Everyone wants to get in on it, and for those looking to sharpen their game there are myriad paths, there are books, videos, online tutorials, and even in-person poker coaches. But just how far would you go? (AP Photo)

Better poker through surgery

BY Dan Restione  on November 30, 2012 @ 8:48 am (Updated: 9:14 am - 11/30/12 )

Texas Hold 'Em. In the last fifteen years the game has gone from near obscurity as a poker game limited to the American Southwest to a worldwide powerhouse with hundreds of thousands playing it in almost every country on Earth. There are movies, TV shows, and ESPN has hit pay dirt with its yearly coverage of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

Everyone wants to get in on it, and for those looking to sharpen their game there are myriad paths, there are books, videos, online tutorials, and even in-person poker coaches.

But just how far would you go in order to crush your local game or yell "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner" at your local casino? How badly do you want to win? Would you consider being injected with a neurotoxin that paralyzes your facial muscles?

Because that's just what New York City internist Dr. Jack Berdy is offering with a new plastic surgery option: PokerTox.

"The purpose of it is to create the perfect poker-face," Berdy told me, "which means that your feelings about your cards, good or bad, are masked from your opponents across the table. Few people can maintain a poker face; they have "tells" that give them away."

For the uninitiated, a "tell" is some unconscious trait that "tells" your fellow players if you have a strong or weak hand, if you're bluffing or truly holding the winning hand. Mike "The Mad Scientist of Poker" Caro has written books on tells and insists that through careful study, you can get an edge at the gaming table. Berdy's selling the idea that if you have a face frozen by Botox injections, you're safe behind your slack visage.

It sounds good, but even a cursory study finds that the vast majority of tells do not involve your face. They're not excessive squinting means a bluff or big wide eyes mean a killer hand. They are behavioral in nature, such as how a player stacks chips (neat equals conservative player, not likely to bluff / messy equals loose player who will play marginal hands,) when a player looks at his or her cards, or how they move chips into the pot when they bet. Most are fairly simplistic and they do make for fun Hollywood script material. In the most popular poker movie "Rounders," Matt Damon is able to beat John Malkovich in a key hand by observing how he eats Oreo cookies while playing.

But really if you want to know what your opponents are holding, you should concentrate on learning their betting habits, not trying to read the odd tic or when they fiddle with their tie clip. Their style of play is best found out by playing with them for a while. And if you really are afraid that your overly expressive mug is costing you big pots, then buy a hat and some sunglasses. It's a lot cheaper than PokerTox, which will run you between $600 and $800 a fix.

Dan Restione, KIRO Radio Producer
After signing on at News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM back in the waning days of the 1980's, Dan's worked his way up from the ranks- working as Desk Assistant, Morning Editor, Afternoon Editor, and Reporter.
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Comments (3)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Uh, you all ARE kidding ? Just in case otherwise, how soon does Luke get the surgery ?
    November 30, 2012 8:59 am
    Not that I've played for a long time, but there is a lot more to poker and bluffing than simply showing no emotion. ... As you finally get to, there is a lot of play acting that can go into a game. And a bluff is much more that not letting your opponents know what you have.

    Okay, Like might know a little, but if he plays mostly on line?????????????

    Then, again. Who cares. Just another Luke topic.

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  • 2112 wrote...
    "Then, again. Who cares. Just another Luke topic".
    December 1, 2012 3:13 pm
    As opposed to another one of Dave's we need the government to run our lives and take care of us topics?
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    So when your NOT at the final table I can say "Why the Long face Dave"?
    December 1, 2012 6:32 pm
    Poker is far more than a blank look.I don't care if your wearing a hockey mask if someone has better odds than you they are shoving.
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