POKER FACE - what does it mean?
@totallyundecided (3190)
Philippines
January 2, 2009 7:21am CST
well, pardon my ignorance for i have not been updated with the "new terms and expressions" today. lol
i've read this a lot in blogs, heard it in a movie but i never bother asking anyone until now on what it means. i am embarrassed to ask anyone. did my reasearch on google but they are all giving me different results. i hope someone could help me.
help, anyone? LOL. happy new year to all. =)
3 responses
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
2 Jan 09
If it is a saying that you have never heard before, then you are not showing any ignorance at all. In fact all credit to you for asking for an explanation about something that you do not understand.
Actually that saying has been around for a very long time. I am not sure how long ago it is since I first heard the saying but probably at least 40 years ago. Now that is showing my age. lol
The saying come from the facial expressions some poker players have. The really good players do not show or indicate to the other players by their face, look or eyes whether or not they have a good hand. In fact their looks/face could be said to be "deadpan" which is another way of saying expressionless.
So if a person is said to have a poker face it means that others cannot read or know what he is thinking. You do not know whether they are for or against what is being talked about, whether they approve or disapprove or whether in fact they even care.
There are not too many people who can be poker faced, because most of us cannot hide the truth of our feelings. It is in the eyes. If you meet a person whose face is bland and without expression, look into their eyes. If you cannot see anything there in the person's eyes, then the person truly has a poker face.
@totallyundecided (3190)
• Philippines
3 Jan 09
to be honest, sir. i am relieved upon reading your answer because you have placed an assurance that it's alright ask. sometimes, in this world, when you don't know something and everyone knows it, they might think or label you as stupid or whatever for being so left behind. but i am glad there are still people like you who are kind enough in sharing their knowledge even to the most simple things for someone like me who is, let's say, not in the trend mostly. =)
you have explained it well and i am so much enlightened now. and i also like how ganderlot made a follow through of the subject. at least am now familiar with some of the poker expressions.
thanks again to all three of you! cheers!!! =)
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
3 Jan 09
If we never ask, then we will never learn anything is the way I think and at some time or other in our life we do need to ask others for help orinformation. So I was glad to be of some help and also that ganderlot was able to sum it up using many less words than I did. lol
Now all you need to do is learn the art of keeping a poker face for those times when you don't want someone else to know what you are thinking or feeling. Good luck with it because it is something that I have never been able to master. lol
Thanks for giving me best response for your discussion.
@ganderlot (351)
• United States
2 Jan 09
The other word you may come across in regards to a poker face is a "tell". A tell is a subtle change in a poker player's behavior, or physical reaction or posturing which lets the other players know what your hand is. Regards
@totallyundecided (3190)
• Philippines
3 Jan 09
wow. so somehow, it's really related to the game. a lot of Filipinos here in our country are so interested in poker that once i spottted them in ym - their status would always say, "POKER-ing". lol
thank you for that. i am jotting it down. cheers! =) and happy new year!
