I’m a talker. Yep. Yep. I’m a talker. I’m a loud, little, young Chicago guy with something to say about everything and everyone. Most of all, I like making people laugh especially in situations that are fairly tense. Hey, the poker table can be tense. You got the old guy who thinks it’s his job to teach “those damn kids.” The kids with the sunglasses and online poker site T-shirts (similar to wearing your favorite team’s jersey to sandlot for a pickup game of softball) who wants to prove that he’s not just a “damn kid that needs to be taught.” You’ve got the pros and weekend warriors that come in all ages, shapes, sizes, and genders.

There’s the rumor started by many with more money than me that talkative people tend to be more likely to bluff. I would say that’s a dangerous overgeneralization with which to adhere. I would say that comfort at the live tables can be more telling of someone’s tendencies.

At the risk of over simplifying, there are: (a) people who simply know what they’re doing; (b) people who know what they should do but have problems doing it (c) people who are ignorant of what they know in an arrogant effort to prove the “right” way to be wrong or preyed upon; and (d) people who have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.

Mentally comfortable people tend to be more like people (a) and (c) whereas nervous people tend to be more like (b). The people mentioned in the category (d) can go either way depending on whether they’re purely recreational gambling or really like the game but know little about strategy. Both of these subcategories float depending on whether they’re winning or losing at that time.

It’d be great if I or anyone could give a flawless group of symptoms to diagnose nervousness, but everyone’s different. If you wanna say that someone who fidgets a lot is nervous, which could be right, but no matter how good a player is, it doesn’t change the fact that big people don’t fit in small chairs and small people don’t fit in any chair. Being a gigantic 5'7" myself, I can attest to the fact that many chairs are to too small forcing to pull my feet to and from underneath me to prop me up. When chairs are too big, my legs dangle and move my body with them at times. Those could be signs of nervousness when I actually very calm as I’m used to this.

Speech patterns are more telling. I enjoy engaging the table in a steady flow of conversation to evaluate people’s comfort level in the environment. Talk about sports, television, or music. I say that if makes for good conversation at a bar, it’s great for the poker table. Just as where a person is more likely to buy you a shot at a bar, a guy is willing to lay down a hand to you without a very strong hand. In the same reasoning circle, when you’re disliked, a guy is more willing to show that he’s better than you by refuting all that you say (and maybe even imply a physical threat), that guy is going to have a hard time laying down to you. The fact is that you don’t know how someone feels about you without communicating with them whether it’s in a bar, your own household, or the poker table.

Don’t be afraid to bring the outside world to the poker table in a positive manner. It will aid your experience. Heightened experience breeds enjoyment. Enjoyment breeds comfort. Comfort breeds confidence. Confidence in your abilities breeds confidence in your theories which breeds discipline. Discipline breeds winning and winning gives you more opportunities to experience the game.

Loving the game as a game is great, but loving the game and increasing the positive atmosphere will increase your love. What is more important, you’ll learn more about your opponents and increase your stack.