Joseph Navarro FBI Training Tells At Poker

THIS in the Telegraph: “A former FBI spy catcher has transferred his

behaviour-reading skills to the equally devious world of international poker.”

Did you know, for instance, the “hunched posture” indicates insecurity and that “joggling legs” suggest confidence. Joseph Navarro does. You may think an inability to control your limbs to be symptomatic of restless leg syndrome or too much caffeine. A hunched posture could be the product of a bad kebab or an advanced peptic ulcer.

“The involuntary non-verbal mannerisms will always betray a player’s hand,” says the caption beneath a shot of cards on a poker baize. Or, as we say, involve medial staff.

Mr Navarro, readers learn, was one of the world’s leading experts on behaviour and was involved in “virtually every US spy investigation between 1993 and 2003, including those of the double agents Aldrich Ames and Robert Hansen”.

Now he’s an instructor at the World Series of Poker Academy. He teaches players how to capture their opponent in a wire net and then transport them in a disguised meat wagon to a remote location in the Nevada Desert. Not, not really (although we have to enrol on his course, and cannot be certain). Navarro teaches professional players how to read their opponents.

Says our man with his finger on your pulse: “The involuntary non-verbal mannerisms dictated by the brain will always betray the strength or weakness of a player’s hand.”

The tells - bouncing “happy feet” of a player who is feeling good, “possibly because he has a strong hand”. Indeed. Navarro is good.

“The opposite - a weak hand - is conveyed by pursed lips, a crinkled nose and squinty eyes.” Aha! Genius. Or a head cold.

Says Navarro: “If your boss asks at a meeting, ‘Who is not pulling their weight?’, the shoulders will rise on those who are not confident. It’s called ‘The Turtle Effect’. You are trying to hide your head inside your shoulders.”

Oh, yes. Turtles are famously crap workers. Navarro makes a valid point.

But be warned: “Mr Navarro acknowledged that his techniques can also be used to mislead other players who know the same signals.”

And you may really have an ulcer…

Anorak

Posted: 23rd, October 2007 | In: Poker And Casino Comments (6) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink