PILLARS OFREADING

Whatelements does reading of opponents consist of? Talking about observation,attention etc. is simply talking. Let us keep to the point.

For one thing, experienced players nicely determine the so-called constant. This term stipulates anordinary opponent’s behavior and/or state. This a quite general set of habitsof how to approve oneself: the way he laughs, grieves, communicates etc. Anychange observed against this conditionally neutral background (constant) makesus fall into a muse.

The opponent can discuss any issues; debate and joke. It means to behavein a natural way – a constant. However, suddenly he becomes continentlyconcentrated, his eyes are hard, and he perks, leaning with his lower arms onthe cushion – a change. It is a quite general remark, but you are ready to say,"He is ready for a grave opposition.” 

Let us have a look at pix. What could the constant look like? A scenefrom “Russian Fight”, episode one, DenisKuznetsov: 

It is a quite widespread and stable expression, which can be calledneutral, as it provides no useful information. However, Erik Seidel bets and …

Eyebrows are lifted up, as if the player is surprised. As readers say,“The constant is broken." We can see a change. What does it mean? Thequestion is appropriate, as amazement can be observed both under negative andpositive circumstances. Thus, we have touched upon changes, which are generally associated directly with tells. Inthis case, a considerable sensitiveness is required. It is dangerous to makehasty conclusions. For example, amateurs think that touching one’s face or neckis a signal of bluff. What is the crucial mistake? 

I repeat, “There are no individual hints. It is always a system, wheretime and place of appearance is of great importance.” Many people overlook thewhole pattern. For example, according to statistics a smile of Phil Ivey duringthe hand is a sign of strength. It is true, but not completely. There aredozens of different smiles! It means that a word “smile” is acceptable only inthe form of colligation, as a term, which is not a particular hint. Theopponent’s attitude to his competitor is of great importance: who or what helaughs at. We consider an amount of stakes and bidding round.

The situation is the same with scratching and stroking of something. Ifthe gesture refers to a constant (the person is in habit of kneading his neckperiodically!), it provides miserable useful information. I would like tounderline the importance of the background (constant), against which we observeany changes. If the gesture does not refer to a constant, it is necessary topoint out previous games as well as additional hints in order to determine thetell: weakness or strength.

Thus, talking about changes we can point out the major differencebetween professional and amateur readers. Professionals know a wide range ofgeneral tells, and they actually practiced to notice them. They spent a lot oftime working hard with pix and videos. Theprogram of training includes special games as well. In other words, aprofessional has more knowledge about changes. He can notice appearances thatare even more delicate. Therefore, we can talk about faster and more effectivescanning of opponents. However, let us talk about the major secret of trainingnext time…

The fact that Kuznetsov calls, suggests the most likely conclusion: heis strong and has a combination. It is time for Erik Seidel to look about. Thedealer lays out the next street. Erik understands the situation – check. Andthe next scene, where the Russian goes all in:

Compare it with the constant illustration (the first picture). Now it isnot necessary to be smart and sharp-eyed. Challenge, pleasure and superiorityare obvious. One pedal is gas and the other is oil. Three sheets to the windand fireworks in the head. He is a very fair person. 

A simple example underlines the importance of the background. Herebehavioral changes are more extensional and vivid. That is why the constant canbe compared to a canvas, representing hints. The constant helps to create acontrast. Old hands in the game (mostly unwittingly) quickly determineopponent’s distinctive features. They use it as a basis for strength andweakness identification. If the opponent is familiar, the task becomes far lesscomplicated. 

From the very start, we have observed the idea of constants. There arethree of them in practice. 

The first: a general constant. A background used for noticing changes(tells). 

The second: a constant of strength. Regular systems of hints verifyingavailability of combinations/hands. I will try to explain the notion. Peopletend to approve themselves in an ordinary way. It is conditioned bypsychophysiology and upbringing. Stability of habits can be particularlyexplained by “self-preservation instinct”. Those things, that help you tosurvive, consolidate firmly. And it takes valid reasons in order to reject anybehavioral patterns.

The third: a constant of weakness. Regular systems of hints verifying a negativeestimate of situation. The knowledge is practical in terms of timely attacksand counterattacks. It is closely connected with the notion of opponent’s foldequity and bluff disclosure.

In this respect, one should remember that  reading is simply an element of a strongplayer training. The word “element” indicates the absence of advantage in whatwe call proficiency. No one cancelled the technique of games, as well asfurther development and absorption of what gives you an advantage.

In the wake of disgust 

 The article deals with the technique of reading, thus,it may seem slightly unemotional. But it fully satisfies the interests of players whoare in fact striving to improve their skills.And I would like to warn that I support those who takethe assurances of the reliability of any tells with great prudence. Now, only romantic people are able to believe in this. During the years of research, I have personallyencountered only two coach hints for which I could not find any contrary exampleuntil now.   Maybe I'll find. The remaining hints change their meaningsquite easily that is why the reading technique is a must. 

They often share links to the different articles ontells with me. Friends and colleaguesknow that I have been dealing with issues of reading during more than one yearand on a regular basis.  So, I have learned that Nicolas Fradet sometimesshares his experience on "2 +2".Perhaps, it is a very modern way to present materialsin, say, optimistic manner. This seems like the author avoids focusing on the fact that any hint hasa hidden agenda. Inone case it may mean nothing, in another one it is a sign of strength, then, asign of weakness, etc. Thus, I disagree with his way to present the materials. Let us consider, for example, the article Disgust. Here is a snapshot taken from it:

Now, pay attention to the lips. We will reconsider them later on.A face can look in this way if a person has seen orsmelled something very unappetizing. This is just one case. There is a nuance.Facial gesture displays not only emotions.  We use it to express any thoughts, attitudes to thesituations as well.  In other words, it is a full-fledged apparatus for communication. We kind of emphasize important phrases or encourageour interlocutor by our eyebrows raised, pull grimaces, giving wordlessanswers. What we show is notemotions. We kind of gesticulateusing “the emblems of emotions.” Let us see another picture for you again to pay attention to theactivity of the lips:

The expression of despite/disgust has other twins, in addition to theemblems.  It can be confused with sniffing, contained sneezing...  From theabove it is obvious: we should be able to separate the husk from the grain. In other words, before one confirms anything, oneshould determine: whetherwe see a hint or something unimportant, a tell or not a tell. It can be found out by just one way – by identifying acommon constant. Ifan expression is usual for the opponent, is periodically shown duringcommunications as a typical feature, then it is less informative andunreliable. 

But let us reconsider the lips. They tend to be everted (both or only the lower lip),don’t they? You can try to make theface in front of a mirror, as if you have felt a bad smell and want to exhale: “Ough!” And then, in order to compare those expressions, sniff as if you cleansethe nose by abruptly breathing air.  Then your face will look somewhat like this:

The lips are closed more tightly. Manypeople like Negreanu tend to have their lips rolled inside.  Sniffing itself is very short in duration.  Just fractions of asecond. These are two very similar expressions, but the external difference isin the movements of the lips. Now, read the statement made by Nicholas Fradet for the picture ofDaniel: “But there is no denyingit; we can see wrinkles in the upper area of the nose and a slight raising ofthe upper lip: disgust.” These words surprised many people as the upper lip hasnot been or is lifted!

Let us suppose that Daniel is an exception to therules and he is used to express disgust in an atypical way. Let us assume that his disgust is very similar tosniffing. But in order to saythis, it is necessary to analyze more than one deal.And if we ask those who have done something of thiskind they would say firmly: Negreanu got steady used to express his disgust/despite asymmetrically. Personally, I affirm this based on the analysis ofhundreds of deals with his participation.

Strictly speaking, everyone may require hard evidencesto be presented, as I have declared figures.It is not a problem.  Those who are interestedcan write to me a personal message. I will provide a link to download free lessons on the basics of facialreading where the issue is easily solved.Thus, I have a lot of arguments: videos, pictures.  Here, I provide one picture ofDaniel’s specific manifestation of disgust/despite: 

Now we can see how the left nasolabial fold risesslightly, causing the upper lip to be curved. It is so specific tothis player.There is another observation. Daniel sniffs exactly in such a manner as shown in Picture 3! In other words,there are so many facts that we have to reject theidea of his disgust.

From this point of view the following piece of adviceseems to be ill-judged: “So if you were sitting in Doyle’s position and happen to see thatexpression in Daniel’s face, you should bet for sure.”Indeed, the realities make us to recognizesniffing.  Thus, we do not know yet what we can see: a tell or not a tell.

We can solve this problem by considering thevideo.  Now, it is not worth checking out the speaker system because thesound is immediately excluded in the study of facial expressions and gestures. In addition, commentators provide with the informationabout the hands. Andin case of training people to read facial expressions it is unacceptable.  We do not know your opponents’ cards – and the fullstop.  Let us keep closer tothe facts. Also, I have covered thehands with a black square. At 01:28 there is a slow motion replay of what Nicolas Fradet called themicro-expression of disgust. We are going to particularly focus on this fragment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2ovpg36dfM

First, does sniffing relate to the commonconstant?  No,because Negreanu does not do so in excess.He does not have the compulsive movement syndrome. The common constant is established in this context. As it turned out, not everyone is able to noticewithout delay that Daniel sniffs twice in a row. 

Is it a tell or not?  In this case it should be attributed as a hint because this"gesture" does not belong to the common constant. Moreover, he has obviously done this too often (twiceper second). That is, stress existsnow.  As excitement can bemanifested both in case of strength and weakness, we have to determine thetell: what does it evidence? 

Note that we are still in a mode which I call “the healthy research ignorance” because there is littleinformation to draw conclusions. But we do not associateour desires with the realities. We just do not knowwhere to incline.What will help us then?  We should not refer the game image for a while asNegreanu’s range often is very wide. The hand can be described as "whatever."  We can add thatNegreanu does not constrain himself to play only according to the opponentstaking into consideration the whole alignment of forces.

A view from Canada might be of help, mightn’t it? “Doylereaches for his chips. Obviously annoyed by the turn card, and that Doylemight have sucked out on him, Daniel shows a micro-expression… Even if we can’tusually tell for sure why a person feels a certain emotion, we can probablyassume that it’s because Daniel saw something he did not like. The factthat Doyle bets into two players increases the chances he’s got a piece of theboard, and that that turn card might have hurt Daniel.”

Repetition of three is unlikely to be able to haveimproved Brunson’s hand, who plays fairly carefully.If it could have improve someone’s position, it couldbe Daniel most probably – it’s he who can attack with a pre-flop from smallconnectors or gap connectors ... Well, the only valuable remark is that theplayer started to sniff when he was watching the opponent’s preparation of theattack. And we still have one of the most reliable sources of information –other tells. Why? Because it is dangerous to rely on the single hints. Alongthe way, we name mistakes, which we could have made as well:

1. The common constant isnot determined.

2. One expression can beconfused with another.

3. An expression isimmediately taken for a tell.

4. An expression isimmediately taken for a sign of weakness.

5. An expression isconsidered as an independent unit. However, hints often constitute a system where particular tells canchange the meanings.

What contributes to such an approach?  The example can be classified as a complex one becausea number of important factors are involved.And one should be able to maneuver among them. This is the case where the risk of erroneousinterpretations is high not only for beginners.  We won’t hurry. The goodnews is that some people have already understood:tells can be compared with the alphabet. And it is better to learn to read than to look for adeeper meaning in the letters themselves.

Supplement. The article “Disgust” contains an example involving Stan Goldstein. A situation on the flop is described where a playerdoes so, pronouncing the "check":

And once again, the statement is offeredthat this is disgust as the nasolabial fold has moved up, pulling the upper lip up as well. Unfortunately, if the constant is not known they rush again. The picture can be an illustration of how disgust can be expressed. But in this particular case even such brilliant researchers of facialgesture as Paul Ekman cannot affirm this definitely. Experts immediately set a range of questions. Is he a smoker?  After all, smokers manifest the effect of "a lazy lip." The habit of having a cigarette in the mouth altersone’s articulation. Hashe ever had a disease of the facial nerve which influenced the nature of facialmovements? And so on and so on.

However, the players do not care much for the reasonof such articulation. It is important whether the expression belongs to any of theconstants.  Ifit is a common constant then it is uninformative, it is not a tell.  If it is a constant of strength, it is necessary to bemore vigilant, more cautious.  If it is a constant of weakness we can be more confident: fold equity is high, it will not stand aggression.

Note that once again I do not name Stan Goldstein’scards deliberately.  When knowing the hands it is easy to fall into apsychological trap by making instant conclusions – it is the illusion of aspecial knowledge that results in losses of time and money in a real game. We often can hear commentators to disapprove theplayers’ actions while forgetting that they judge based on their knowledge ofthe hands – while this information is unavailable to those who are then at thetable. But now we are closer tolife, we ask right questions and acquire a professional, productive thinking ofa facial reader. First,it is unusual and difficult. Then a difficult task becomes easy.And an easy thing becomes beautiful.

So, I just disagreed with the contents of the article. I tried to provide reasoned arguments, because pokeris initially bears risks. Players need proven information to be more successful. And trainers must protect them from mistakes. That’ll do for today.  But as chance offers we will review in more detail anexample of the strife between Negreanu and Brunson which is difficult forfacial reading.

A SMILE OF ERIK SEIDEL

Everyone is successful in a certain sphere while the others are wondering and willing to have the same skills. Poker is not an exception. My former best skills proved useful from the moment when I became interested in the game. Thus a smile of delight appears itself. Let us have a look at smiles of opponents. Who will we start with? Let Erik Seidel smile at us: 

Everyone who agrees with the fact that it is a pleasure to see somebody’s lips edges lifting up either while greeting, or during the conversation, give a nod. In a literal sense – give a nod. Let us make a smiling Erik pleased. Especially as at the moment the situation does not seem funny to him. Or someone actually believed in sincerity of his emotion?

We do not need to know all the details of game situation in order to say that at this moment an eminent player is in real trouble. It takes a keen disappointment to smile like this. There is a mask on his face, which meanly conceals a number (!) of negative feelings. Even disgust is among them. However, we do not need to know all the nuances of their demonstration in order to find ourselves as favorites of the hand. Only one (!) sign can make us go all-in. 

Of course there are more signs, as readers have to use systems of tells in order to precisely verify the state of opponents. In this case, it is extremely obvious that greater zygomatic muscles are completely inactive. But when a person feels happy and pleased they are always involved. I will simply point it in order not to waste time:

Oh, what a pleasure to look at him! Cheeks are lifted up in a completely other way. It means that the pleasure is sincere. I would not definitely like to see such a smile after a hand. And if it happens, we’d better withdraw with such a celerity that will make Jim Kerry feel jealous. 

Naturally, such demonstrations of emotions, as the second picture shows, take place quite seldom. However, the greater zygomatic muscle continues to expose not a single trickster, hiding a monster in his sleeve. Those who read my notes before know that there are dozens of different smiles. And still it is senseless to consider all of them, as more frequently they are interpreted on the basis of combination with the other facial muscles. And this topic goes far beyond the scope of this article. 

By the way, many people misbelieve that they are able to recognize false and sincere smiles. Results of experiments are of random nature, as if tested persons simply try to guess what those pix reflect. I am sure that in the first picture the majority considered Erik Seidel’s pleasure as a shiny coin. Thus, it is better to get back to classics. What does a sincere smile look like?

The description might seem boring, but at least it is obviously professional. And the word "professional” means that you acquire valuable information. And it is pleasant indeed. So, below you will find features of a smile, which might be referred to a sincere positive emotion:

1. An important feature – a greater zygomatic muscle, which lifts cheeks upwards, is active.

2. An important and dim feature – in case of a wide smile eyebrows are lowered (scarcely noticeable).

3. A sincere smile is mostly symmetrical.

4. Wrinkles and baggy lower eyelids are more explicit. 

5. The so called crow’s feet appear or become more explicit on the outer edges of eyes. 

6. The eyes are pursy. 

7. A sincere smile is more stable. Dramatic changes are not typical of it.

   Even such a general consideration of smiles makes you stronger. Therefore, below you will find a little test and try to guess yourself which picture represents bluff and which а sincere pleasure:

And the second picture:

   I intentionally provided different shooting angles and methods of demonstration. Furthermore, those who used to perform such tasks know that I like to set traps. In other words, both pictures can reflect sincerity or bluff. That is why you will have to be more attentive. Good luck! 

   P.S. The main point is not a correct answer, but the difficulties you have faced. It is a rule: correction of weaknesses makes us stronger. Therefore, minuses are enjoyable as they provide an opportunity to cross them. And this is a plus.