Have you seen this man? Circus Casino reveals the perfect poker face 01/10/2008

Jake Pollard

Given that prize pots in the professional game now run regularly into tens of thousands of dollars, the lengths to which poker players will go to tame the potential of the face and eyes to inadvertently give the game away are hardly surprising.

While some opt for concealment – Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak pulling the drawstring on his hooded top tight at high-pressure moments to reduce his face to a tiny unreadable “o” springs to mind – others rely on perfecting that unflinching mask of inscrutability known as the poker face.

But although the poker face has long been acknowledged as a crucial part of the armoury of the successful poker player, little or no analysis has gone into identifying the unifying qualities, if any exist, that make the faces of the players who consistently win so difficult for their opponents to read.

Until now, that is. As part of the launch for its £100,000 guaranteed double-chance poker tournament, CircusCasino.com has engaged the services of leading personologist (that’s ‘face reader’ to you and me) Naomi Tickle (yes, that is her real name) to analyse the facial features and traits of the last 10 winners of the biggest single prize in the game – the World Series of Poker. Tickle, the author of You Can Read A Face Like A Book, concluded that all of them, despite bearing few similarities at first glance, did in fact share a number of facial traits. And these traits may go some way towards explaining why they are so hard to beat at the poker table.

The key features identified by Tickle included a Roman nose, a jutting chin, cupped-out ears and wide-set eyes, which led her to conclude: “Looking at these 10 successful players there are many remarkable similarities, suggesting that there may well be a ‘poker face’ look.” Tickle added that poker players shared these traits with those who were successful in other fields. “Interestingly, many of the traits are ones you would normally see in actors and successful business people – it seems a good poker player mixes commercial nous with theatrical flair,” said Tickle.

Indeed, although all these players had successfully mastered the art of rendering their faces devoid of emotion and expression, Tickle said the facial traits and features common to many top poker players also help to send out signals which can unsettle and affect the ways those facing them play.

For instance, 2007 WSOP winner Jerry Yang’s wide-set eyes, according to Tickle, help convey the impression that he is seeing every possibility at the table and will remain calm under pressure, perceptions which could perhaps give him that crucial edge in a high pressure face-off across the table.

Other traits, according to Tickle, such as a flared outer edge of an eyebrow, can also lend their possessor the ability to act out and send messages to throw-off, deceive or mislead their opponents. Jamie Gold, who walked away with a cool US$12m from the 2006 WSOP, demonstrates this particular trait.

The composite facial image of the top 10 players, which Circus Casino dubs “the U$40m face”, in reference to the winners’ collective winnings, can be seen on the next page, and seems unlikely to charm the ladies. However, it’s often hard at moments such as this not to be reminded of Mrs Merton’s infamous rhetorical quip to Debbie McGee, “So, what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?”

The managing director of CircusCasino.com, Peter Nolan, is fortunately on hand to provide succour to those who lost out in poker’s genetic lottery. “If you’re lucky enough to be born with some of these desirable facial characteristics, it could benefit your poker playing – but even if you don’t have the perfect poker face, or you’re not a great bluffer, you can play online where your face or its expression won’t matter,” he said.

The attributes of a perfect poker player, according to Tickle, are:

- Roman nose of Chris Moneymaker
- Wide-set eyes of Jerry Yang
- Head width of Greg Raymer & Noel Furlong
- Sloped-back forehead of Robert Varkonyi
- High forehead of Carlos Montensen
- Jutting chin of Scotty Nguyen
- Outer corner of the eye of Joseph Hachem
- Cupped out ears of Chris Ferguson
- Flared outer edge of the eyebrow of Jamie Gold

Don't miss out on egaming news: sign up for our free, daily Snapshot email. Or get the news as its breaks with the free eGaming Review RSS feed.

Posted: 01/10/2008