In a game of poker each player should try to play every hand as though he (or she) knew which cards were held by the opposing player. At the same time, poker strategy requires that an attempt be made to thwart the strategic moves of the opponent. A skillful poker player must assume that the opponent is also trying to play each hand as though he (or she) had full knowledge of the cards held by the other poker players.

Obviously, no poker player can get inside the brain of an opponent. Were that feat possible, then perhaps a poker player could ‘switch-on” a line of nervous impulses, thus causing the opponent to lack dangerous speculations about the sort of cards held by any of the other poker players. Lacking the chance to explore such methodology, a poker player must undertake a different strategy, an accepted poker strategy.

 
Some poker players become expert bluffers. They excel at bluffing. What is bluffing? Is it a poker strategy?

 Yes, poker players who know how to bluff understand how to use one poker strategy to great advantage. They bet strongly, even when they have a weak hand. In that way, they try to fool the opponent. They try to convince the opponent that they have a strong hand. If the opponent then plays with the wrong assumption about the sort of cards held by another player, the opponent is apt to proceed in a way that would be strategically wrong.

A different poker strategy has been given the name “slow playing.” When a poker player uses the slow playing strategy, then he (or she) bets weakly, even though the cards in his (or her) hand might well be strong cards. The weak bet confuses the opponent. It causes the opponent to put less value on the cards that once looked like the makings of a winning hand.

 
When the opponent makes a false assumption, the opponent can not proceed according to the guidelines for poker-playing strategy. The opponent again proceeds in a manner that is strategically foolish.

 Many people play poker, both at home and in a casino setting. They are familiar with the needed poker strategy. Their familiarity with that strategy has encouraged the usage of the term “poker-faced.” A person is said to be “poker-faced” whenever he (or she) uses facial features to suggest a situation that is the reverse of the actual situation.