Laying Your Cards on the Table

‘He had played nearly every day at one club or other, but he was a cautious player, and usually rose a winner.’
‘THE ADVENTURE OF THE EMPTY HOUSE’
It is unclear how much of body language is inborn in us and how much is learned. Charles Darwin highlighted certain facial expressions (happiness,
sadness, fear, disgust, surprise and anger) that are recognised across cultures, suggesting they at least are genetically inherited. But much else is
learned socially.
The card table is one of the prime battlefields of body language. Every serious card player aims to mask their own body language, while
attempting to discern the ‘innate’ body language of their opponents (i.e. that which cannot be masked). In this context, signals that indicate the hand
of a player are known as ‘tells’. The aim of a great player is to perfect the ‘poker face’, that serene look which gives nothing away to the onlooker.
There are plenty of characters in the Holmes stories who would have benefitted from this talent. Several men found themselves in all types of
trouble (including virtual ruination) as a result of their lack of success at the gambling table (whist was seemingly the most common route to downfall
in Sherlock’s England). Watson himself had a tendency to gamble dangerously, to the extent that Holmes kept the good doctor’s cheque book
locked up for him. Here are a few tips regarding ‘tells’ that those players never learned:
Watch the face
This is where a trained eye can spot ‘micro gestures’ that are hard to control. If the eyes smile, they probably have a good hand.



Many pros
wear hats and glasses to hide these micro signals.
Check out how a player stacks their chips
As a very broad rule, a player who keeps an untidy stack is likely to play a loose game. A neat stack suggests a more conservative player.
Surreptitious glancing at their chips suggests an opponent is preparing an attack.
Posture
Leaning back into a chair in a relaxed but upright manner can indicate relief or confidence. Conversely, hunching forward can indicate
nervousness. Some card players claim that a rapidly jiggling knee beneath the table is the surest sign that someone thinks they have a winning
hand.
Beware!
It is an integral part of the game that many players will consciously reverse their natural body language to confuse you. They will try to ‘play it
cool’ if they