I keep coming across this. The player directly across the table from me constantly looking at me. I am wondering if this is a psych out strategy or something. It's a little unsettling. I'm talking about not while in the hand with each other. I've seen it from a bunch of players lately. Anyone else experience this?

They think it's cool cause they saw Mike McDonald doing it.

Just make fun of it like Jason Mercier did against Timex.

slowly turn your head and then look back at them, then even slower start to grin, more and more, wider and wider until you have a huge **** eating smile.

made me laugh so hard

But seriously OP, even the best give those stares. Joe McKeehen did a lot of staring, and look where he is now (winner of WSOP 2015). Staring is a good intimidation technique, police do it a lot when interviewing a suspect to hope they will crumble under the pressure and give away valuable information. Same applies to poker - staring can cause people to be nervous and give away some tells. It's creepy but you have to get used to it and not fall victim to the pressures of the staring technique.

Usually people stare at you trying to get a read, which means if they are that interested in getting a read on you it's because they have some kind of hand. They may even feel they have the best hand and are just staring at you to see that money go in. If someone was being a ****ing weirdo about it, maybe try wearing some sunglasses or something so they get bored of staring at a wall.

Again, not while in the hand. So it's not about getting a read. Say player a and player b are in a hand. Player c is starting at me while I am not involved at all.

Then I would just start making fun of him, inform him that I have a girlfriend and she's going to be jealous if she catches him staring at me like that that. Or wear the sunglasses anyway and keep my head aimed at him so he thinks I'm staring back, but just look at other stuff so he eventually breaks. Or just ignore it completely since he sounds like a troll, and trolls need a reaction to keep trolling. The more you ignore them the more irritated they get.

[ ] You are a handsome man
[ ] You have a disfiguring injury
[ ] You have a booger hanging
[ ] The cocktail waitress is right behind you
[ ] You also are hearing voices

I've seen some good ones on this. It's usually coming from the highly self-impressed type. Do or say something to undercut the incredible overconfidence and arrogance the behavior is coming from. Use your imagination. List some ideas IP, then I'll list mine.

I like winking at them.

That's definitely on the list, said Doc Holliday.

I'm your huckleberry


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They cant see my face because of the brim of my hat. I look up only to look at any of their behavior.

Ah, the old brim of the hat trick. I'm partial to that one myself. I'm gonna make a crazy estimate that I've played 5000 poker sessions in my life, and I've worn a hat to, I think, all but one! LOL. One time I was coming from something formal and dressed up.

LOL. Staring dude needs to feel that he want's no part of your "action" ... that he's no huckleberry, no daisy, no stare-down champ in your book. Once upon a time I walked around the table past the offending party and knocked into him HARD as I passed by his seat ... no apology. When I got back, no more stare.

Another time I asked the guy if he knew what happened in prison to starers? He stopped too.


**Proceed with caution. There might be the odd staring gangster out there. But in my experience, nearly 100% of these exaggerated staring types are anything but. They tend to be more like Durr. LOL. One time I thought Brunson was going to backhand him out of his chair when he kept overtly, exaggeratedly, looking him over, and over, and over, to the point of being ridiculous. I would have flown to wherever they were on earth to shake his hand if he had.

Making it physical = not cool at all


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It's aggression against you and has always been interpreted like that since the dawn of time by virtually all species.

I stare at my opponents. Its very easy to pick up tells on most. I also watch them when I'm not in a hand with them and see how they were breathing, how was their pulse, how did they handle their chips, and what did they show down. This info can only help you during hands you are involved with them.

Yeah please don't listen to the individual in this thread telling you to up things to a physical confrontation. I agree with the other posters who have suggested you joke about it or give the guy a needle. Stuff like 'You gonna buy me a drink or just keep staring?' usually does the trick.

As for what it all means I'm not sure. I think people overdo stuff like this rather than focus on the actual poker. You would not believe the amount of times I have seen hoodie + sunglasses guy do something stupid and punt because they aren't good at poker. They are more focused at looking 'cool' at the table. Same with this guy it sounds like.

[QUOTE=jgrimmer44;50512431]Yeah please don't listen to the individual in this thread telling you to up things to a physical confrontation.

Part of me agrees with this but when it it is so overt, exaggerated and obnoxious that it is ruining your experience playing, you gotta do something. Punks gonna get punked is one of the laws of nature.

Are YOU in the hand? (its not celar in the OP) then he's simply seeing your reactions whilst playing a hand, it doesn't matter if if its against him

I do this all the time, as I'm not a fan of the staredown. I'll often find better tells when they don't know I'm watching them

bwahahahaha... this is hilarious.

I almost always wear a hat and always have sunglasses with me as long hours in Harrahs hurts my eyes and gives me headaches. I have come across this a fair amount recently as well and two weeks ago kept catching the guy staring at me. I told him I was in room 108 and gave him a wink and a smile. The dealer lost her **** laughing (I've been trying to get her to go to dinner with me last couple sessions before this) which proceeded to get the whole table laughing and the guy got up and left, so my advice is just throw the shades on, pull the hat down or dig in and make him more uncomfortable.

Not sure why someone would stare at you while you both are not in a hand but it could be any number of things ... perhaps he thinks he knows you from somewhere else?

When I played 7th-9th grade hoops I would always guard the other teams best player and I would always meet them right out of their huddle at timeouts and just follow him around regardless of where the ball was. It took a lot of players out of their game and certainly generated 1-2 fouls on them as well. I even had a parent yell at me to get away from their kid ... or else ... one time.

This tactic didn't work so well as we got older and whole teams got better and were able to change their offense to counteract it. So those days past on into history. GL

player c wants to have sex with you