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Some players wear scarves to avoid giving away neck pulse information
Here are the most important points about getting information from neck pulse reads in poker:
- A visibly elevated neck pulse can point toward bluffing: Big bluffs tend to trigger more physical arousal than betting a strong hand.
- The read is more useful against experienced players: Recreational players may get excited with both strong hands and bluffs, while experienced players are more likely to stay calm with strong hands and become activated mainly when bluffing.
- Neck-pulse changes are hard to control: Even seasoned players may show them involuntarily, which is why some players deliberately cover their necks with scarves, jackets, or their hands.
To help explain this in more detail, I’ll include an excerpt from my book Exploiting Poker Tells:
Gabriel Goffi on neck pulse reads and scarves
The following is from a 2014 talk I had with Gabriel Goffi, a professional player and entrepreneur from Brazil. His website is at GabrielGoffi.com.
Elwood: How much do poker tells play a role in your game in general?
Goffi: I think they’re very important. There are some basic tells that have helped me a lot. For example, like the pulse in the neck. It’s helped me a lot, especially against amateurs. So I could realize that they were bluffing. I’ve won huge pots making hero calls based on that.
Of course, it’s not always 100 percent sure, but when you focus on behavior, it gives you a lot of edge on other players. A lot of players aren’t looking for that. They’re looking at their phones or whatever. It’s powerful and has helped me a lot.
I remember one time I think my own pulse gave me away. I was playing a huge game, with stacks that were like 100,000 Brazilian reais [$40,000 USD]. There was a huge fish, playing every hand, potting a lot, super aggressive.
This hand happened. I had blockers on the turn. The board was like 7-6-5. I had 99. He bets. I pot 30K on turn and he called. There was a flush draw on the flop. The river was a blank. I pot all in, like 50K reais. And he tanks.
I forgot to hide my neck and my hand was on my mouth. I was just holding still. And this guy was thinking. He starts looking at me. I’m thinking “Of course he can’t call me, he doesn’t have the straight, he must have a busted flush draw or just a pair. What’s he thinking?” He had been drinking, too, so it probably was a mistake on my part to try to bluff him. But long story short, he ended up calling. He called with two-pair, like 6-5.
My friend, who was on the table, said, “Gabriel, I can’t believe it, man, your neck was pumping like you were going to die.” And I’m pretty sure he called me because of that. He must have thought: “This guy is so nervous, he must be bluffing.” After that, I made sure to always hide my neck.
Elwood: How do you hide your neck?
Goffi: Different ways. Sometimes it’s a scarf. Other times I just put my hand up, like Phil Hellmuth does, blocking the neck. Sometimes I put my jacket up, just to hide the neck. I diversify.
Elwood: Do you think that’s why you see so many high-stakes poker players wearing scarves these days? Seems like it’s a real fad to wear the scarves.
Goffi: Yes, I’m pretty sure it’s about that. Because, in my experience, most of the time when the pulse was pumping, it’s bluffing. Unless it’s an amateur who is nervous because it’s a lot of money to him and he’s got a strong hand. But most of the time, he’s bluffing. And it’s something that’s really hard to control. Even if we’ve played five, six, ten years. It’s an emotional thing and it’s hard to control. And I include myself. I do a lot of yoga; I do a lot of breath exercise. And even with that, I can’t control it sometimes. It’s just bigger than me. My heart starts pumping and I feel uncomfortable and I have to hide.
Elwood: Yeah. If you’re an experienced player, you’re not likely to get that excited with a strong hand, because that’s pretty normal and you feel comfortable. But making a big bluff can still be exciting.
Goffi: And you just feel more protected when you hide yourself. I think that’s why people use sunglasses. Because you feel comfortable. So when you hide your neck and eyes, you think “I’m in the zone.” I don’t use sunglasses but I think the neck is very important.