One of the most common concerns I hear from new players is that watching sports on TV and playing poker don’t mix. This is certainly true if the poker is Texas Hold’em, or any other traditional variety. If you’re trying to gauge your hand and read the other players, then a game blaring on the TV is going to be a distraction. Conversely, if you are interested in the game then the poker is a distraction. Watching sports and playing Texas Hold’em are in separate categories, and you cannot give them both your undivided attention.
Sports Poker is different because the game on TV is part of the poker game. If you want to play your hands well, you have to be watching the TV. The TV is not a distraction, it’s the main source of information. In fact, there is probably no better motivation for watching a game closely than to be playing Sports Poker! Every exciting part of the game becomes even more memorable since it will be associated with an equally exciting poker hand. Suppose the Broncos drive all the way down the field, and then call a time out to decide whether to go for it on 4th and goal or kick a field goal. The associated Drive Poker hand would be a classic - with lots of betting (especially late in the drive) and a memorable showdown. Think of how many different hands still have a chance of winning during that time out!
However, there’s still one more big issue. When you are watching a game you really care about, and there’s a big play, you want to react spontaneously, without inhibitions. But, isn’t that the exact opposite of keeping a “poker face”? How can you enjoy the game if you can’t react the way you want to when there’s a big play? Actually, in Sports Poker you can yell and cheer all you want without giving anything away about your hand - as long as that’s more or less what you would have done anyway. Let me explain.
First, what’s so great about keeping a poker face? If you were sitting around a table with your friends (not playing poker) and you suddenly got a big smile on your face, or looked like you were in excruciating pain, your friends would wonder what was going on inside your head. That’s not normal behavior! Likewise, if you lose your poker face when you play poker, your opponents know you’re reacting to something – it’s just a matter of what.
You can try to fool your opponents by smiling when you have a bad hand, or looking pained when you have a good hand, but good poker players will see right through it. It’s better to keep the poker face. Does that mean you can’t move, or even breathe, lest you give something away? No! Things you would do anyway – sipping your beer, or engaging in idle chatter – don’t give anything away.
Now, suppose you are playing Sports Poker and there is a big play on the TV. You stand up and cheer, spilling popcorn all over the table. That is certainly not a poker face! What can your opponents learn from your reaction to the play? Nothing! As long as that is more or less what you would have done anyway.
If you stand up and cheer when the team you’re rooting against has a big play, that’s different. Your opponents will take note. It might say something about your hand. But not if you cheer naturally – the way you would anyway. So cheer for your team, and trash talk the other team all you want. It gives nothing away.
Of course, sometimes you will be cheering for your team while your poker hand goes south, or cursing the other team as your hand gains value. Dealing with those sorts of things takes some discipline. That’s the Sports Poker version of poker face. Sports Poker players need to be able to deal with disappointment (or elation) with their hand without showing it, just like with any poker game. But cheering for your team while you play Sports Poker is fine.
So in theory you can play Sports Poker during any sporting event, no matter how much you care or don’t care about the outcome, and yell and cheer all you want. But let’s concede that you probably shouldn’t play during games you have a deep emotional stake in. There are plenty of games that don’t matter so much to you (and your friends) and those are usually the best opportunities to play Sports Poker.