The psychology of bluffing on a poker table vs real life - Psychology in Poker and Gambling

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The psychology of bluffing on a poker table vs real life

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11-07-2017 , 05:10 PM

6bet me

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3,885

On the poker table: when people bluff, they act friendly. The only times people get angry/standoffish when you ask a question like "will you show if I fold?" is if they actually have it. They'll always smile and be polite if they're bluffing.

In real life: when people lie, they get extremely aggressive and standoffish when you try to ask them questions/investigate the matter. They're much more polite and cooperative when they're telling the truth.

Why is there this inconsistency between the psychology of people in real life vs the psychology of people on the poker table?

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11-08-2017 , 12:53 AM

AALegend

veteran

Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 2,074

In a poker environment bluffing is an acceptable and integral part of the game. For most individuals getting caught or accused of lying in a real life calls their personal integrity into question/ruins their reputation and so they react more aggressively as if to they they are offended by the mere fact someone had the balls to accuse them like that.

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11-08-2017 , 02:59 AM

Elrazor

losing momentum

Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 13,802

I'm not really sure there is an inconsistency between bluffing and lying irl, but if there is it's probably down to social norms and how you are expected to behave at the poker table. A chatty, friendly game is usually a profitable one - if people were raising voices every time they bluffed, it would be a pretty uncomfortable place to be and the game would probably break.

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11-08-2017 , 05:57 PM

6bet me

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 3,885

Well a lot of the OMCs and even some middle-aged guys that play 1/2 and 1/3 at my casino see bluffing as "disrespectful". Like they get genuinely offended when some young kid tries to bluff them and they'll make comments like "I only bet when I have it, I don't bullsh*t and steal pots that aren't mine". Like they actually take pride in the fact that they don't bluff, as if to say that bluffing is a genuinely immoral thing to do. And yet these same people will get standoffish when you ask them if they're bluffing when they never are.

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11-11-2017 , 12:46 PM

DigitalMGB

newbie

Join Date: Nov 2017 Posts: 20

I think it's because in Poker as a game - You try to ''act'' and fake it as much as possible as a role and not as hiding something bad. Usually when an actor ''brakes'' it's usually by laughing and not by getting angry.
In real life it's a subconscious defense measure that is being threaten. Just my thought

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11-13-2017 , 07:13 PM

Kingkong352

journeyman

Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 382

I think bluffig is not the same as lying. When bluffing you become more a kind of prey who afraid to be discovered by a predator & to trigger an immediate reaction. Bluffers want to look normal, or even unnoticeable.

With liers, From personal & professional experience (lawyer) , I notice the ones who become agressive are the ones who lack the logical consistency in their story and then try to compensate with emotional ****. They often become more emotional when they cant reply well to the questions concerning the lie.

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11-14-2017 , 01:18 PM

robert_utk

Not From the UK

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,822

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6bet me

People are much more complicated than this. Actually, even if this simplified example were true, this would be consistent with real life people.

If you ask “will you show if I fold” and they have it, then you are saying:

“If I outplay you this hand, will you like it or not?”

Seems logical to get some negative feedback, even if overly simplified.

There are levels upon levels, under levels, of why people behave the way they do.

Studies of eye tracking and eye dilation show a much more consistent relation between deception and eye movements, beyond words or body language.

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01-16-2018 , 08:41 PM

fasterlearner

grinder

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 635

Well I would disagree with you on peoples behaviours.

Everyone is different, so people lie in different ways.

Of course people are nice when they bluff a pot, they won.
Of course they can get mad when bluffed, they lost the pot.

Its about money thats all

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