"I would love to help you, but unfortunately, it's one player to a hand."

.... oohh I am sorry, I can't talk right now, I am in the middle of a poker game. I think I might be able to bluff the guy.

Just act normal and emotionally/physically balanced. you are overthinking it

This is not always possible with the stress of being in a hand.

This...not like they are actually playing the game at that point lol

I am a big believer in doing the same thing in almost every situation until you get more comfortable. Look at your hands the same way for the same period of time every time. Place the chips in the pot the same way every time. Create rituals and stick to them. This will help you give less information. As for responding to a question, I never respond.

I will ask a lot myself. In a 1/2 NLHE game, I rivered trip 7's on a Kd Qd 7h Ts 7d The Villain was so tight and shipped all in, I genuinely thought I was beat. I asked if I could see one card. He said, "I will show you both." He flips over two Aces and I call show and take down the pot. The Villain had no clue what happened. The floor came over and explained the situation.

I guess the point of this little story is you never know what someone is going to do or say. The more you get comfortable, try to expand your comfort zone. It will be a money maker.

The danger is that when something does occur that knocks youi off your stride, you will break your routine without even knowing it, thus creating a tell.

Man... I'm a poker dealer and this really comes down to "situational". I've goaded players into calling me by being completely up front and honest with them "I have aces, you should fold". And even "I have it, I'm telling you"... But I have thousands and thousands of hours at the tables and being at a poker table is a very comfortable atmosphere for me. If someone asks you a direct question AND YOU ARE NOT EXPERIENCED IN TABLE TALK, I suggest saying absolutely nothing. The more time you spend at the live tables will make you more comfortable and you'll also see how other people respond to certain situations and how/why a certain line in a conversation influences people to a specific action. If I had to sum it up simply, I would say for an inexperienced live player, simply telling the honest truth will cause your opponent to do the wrong thing because they ALWAYS believe you to be lying and when you are honest you are not acting which comes off as SO convincing. Saying "I'm bluffing, you should call" or "I have the nuts, you should fold" often results in the desired incorrect decision. But like I said, use that strategy at your own discretion because you need to be comfortable while doing this.

Don't break your routine. My routine is to look at the dealer or a spot on the table and not answering any questions. Pretty hard to get a tell from that.

I like to just ignore them, sit calmly, and try not to give any information away. I talk at the poker table, but if I am involved in a hand I don't talk at all, unless I am facing a river all in or something and just want to talk to myself and see how they react. If my opponents have any decisions left or actions to make I say nothing.

Edit: Not talking includes not announcing my actions or bet amounts. If I have AK and hit a K on the flop and bet it, I am not going to announce 'bet', and I'm not going to say the amount that I'm putting into the pot. That is for the dealer to do. If I have 9h10s and I miss the flop and want to bluff I am not going to announce 'bet' or say the amount of the bet.

"I can't talk right now, I'm in the middle of a hand."

When someone is asking about your hand, what's important is that your answer is always the same. If you are going to say 'i have the nuts' when you have the nuts then that's also what you should say when you are bluffing.

Personally, I always say "I haven't actually looked at my cards."

I think silence is the best option unless you are good at getting into people's heads and manipulating them.

For a canned response to use in all situations, something like, "I charge $25 for an answer to a question when I'm in a hand."

MSSp3LD "thanks for axin"

Responding with some canned hard ass response is just going to make you look like a lame, especially if you're a nerdy online player worried about being a tellbox in the live game.

The key is knowing how to be comfortable, not having a prewritten response to social situations. Reverse the question, needle, tell your opponent to hurry up and call/fold because you know they're a nit/degen, etc.

If your decision has already been made the pressure is on your opponent so reverse the questioning pressure and put more pressure on them so they're more likely to make a mistake.

Why is that a problem?

Gobboboy sock puppet detected.

I'm adding this one to my arsenal
LOL

I'd try to give away no emotion like the Dwan staredown. Something else you could say is " you know what you got to do" as it's an answer you can use 100% of the time.

Silence works.

Hand over mouth, brim of hat down, motionless, controlled breathing.

My standard response to any open-ended questions is silence.

My standard response to any yes or no question (i.e. "do you have XY?") is "I might" or "I might have"

I'm not a live player, but I would like to go into my "cocoon". The cocoon is where you cross your arms and then rest your head face down into your arms. You see! You are in a safe cocoon. No one can read you. You are safe in your cocoon. Who knows, if your opponent takes long enough to make a decision you could get a good nap in.

Control ur breathing and find a focus spot

take it out