Define Good Poker Face

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poker face

A blank, emotionless expression that gives no indication of one's thoughts or intentions. Poker players use such an expression so as not to give their opponents any clues about which cards they are holding. I kept looking over to see if she was impressed, but she wore a poker face throughout the performance.Now, make sure you keep your poker face on for these negotiations—we can't let them know where we stand.

Verb, poker facing, The act of pretending to make love to someone other than who you curently are with. An expression on someone's face that does not show what he or she is thinking or feeling: to wear / keep a poker face One of the most difficult things to do in an emotionally charged situation is to maintain a poker face. A poker face is a facial expression that does not show any emotion, a facial expression that hides one’s feelings by appearing blank or neutral. The term poker face comes from the card game of poker, which often requires a player to bluff, or make the other players think he is holding different cards than the ones he is actually holding.

poker face

A visage lacking any expression that can be interpreted, as in Whenever Betty attended one of her children's performances, she managed to keep a poker face . This term alludes to the facial expression of a poker player who is expert at concealing his feelings about his hand. [c. 1880]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

poker face, a

Total lack of expression; deadpan. This term comes from gambling, where the astute player tries not to betray the quality of his or her hand by remaining expressionless. Originating in the late nineteenth century, the term was transferred to other areas in which individuals tried hard not to betray their thoughts. C. E. Mulford used it in his western novel, Rustler’s Valley (1924): “He glanced around the circle and found poker faces.”

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noun

an expressionless face: He can tell a funny story with a poker face.

a person who has or deliberately assumes a poker face: It is impossible to tell what that poker face is really thinking.

QUIZZES

CAN YOU IDENTIFY LITERATURE’S FAMOUS OPENING LINES?

The opening line of any book should say, in the words of Stephen King, “Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.” Right? So intriguing! But, alas, that is not how books begin. So, how well do you know the actual opening lines from some of literature's greatest novels? Correctly match these memorable openers with their works of fiction and consider yourself an excellent listener!

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

Origin ofpoker face

OTHER WORDS FROM poker face

poker-faced,adjective

Words nearby poker face

pokelogan, Pokémon, poke one's nose into, poker, poker dice, poker face, poker-faced, poker machine, poker spine, pokerwork, pokeweed