The Power of a Poker Name: Why Identity Still Matters at the Table
What is in a name? It has been over four centuries since the Bard of Avon posed this thought-provoking question. It appears that an answer has not been found to this day. However, names are quite important to new parents who are just now having their first baby. They are also important to migrants moving to a different culture, who want to retain a piece of their own country and identity. Names are also important to poker players who want to convey a sense of security and confidence. Our names play an important role in society whether we like to admit it or not.
The power of a name also has its online equivalent. Most of us value anonymity on the internet. In an effort to retain as much of it as possible, we use pseudonyms. Online usernames have grown to a very popular trend at online casinos. Poker players are especially concerned with picking the best possible nom de guerre. After all, there is power in a name. The identity we choose at a table, virtual or physical, matters. But, why does identity matter at the table? Especially if the table is only proverbial in nature. That is what we would like to discuss in the article below.
What Poker Names Can Tell Us
Most poker players probably don’t put much thought into the screen names that they’ve chosen. Indeed, many simply use their own name in tandem with a random number. However, experts believe that putting thought into your username is actually of utmost importance. Apparently people can glean a lot about a person from their screen name alone. The simplest thing that they can pinpoint is the person’s gender. If the poker name chosen is simply a personal name, then it is easy to guess whether the person behind the screen is male or female. Those of us who value privacy would rather keep any personal information to ourselves; even something as seemingly innocuous as our gender.
The name that we’ve chosen to represent us at the poker table can also reveal a lot about our ethnic background. Latin people might incorporate Spanish words or phrases into their screen names. This may not tell us much about the player because of the prominence of the Spanish language worldwide. But the case is different with Dutch or Japanese. Experts do recommend avoiding using such specific terms if you would prefer to keep your background anonymous.
How Poker Names Can Trick Us
Relying too much on screen names for information can also be a fool’s errand. Anyone can come up with any screen name after all. A young American man can choose a Korean pop idol’s name and profile picture as their username, and nobody would be the wiser. Some may even assume they are playing against a young, Korean woman. Undoubtedly, the identities we’ve chosen to display when playing online Texas Holdem real money games can be misleading. Some screen names reveal nothing of the person on the other end.
It is becoming increasingly popular to use a random string of numbers and letters as a username. People are doing their best to prevent their identity from leaking in an age when cybersecurity and digital anonymity are at risk. The growing availability of monitoring software has a lot of people on edge. Plenty of poker players do the best they can with what they have. They create unpronounceable or even unreadable screen names. Often they are comprised of symbols and numbers. Some may even go on for a while, further confusing other players. It is just one of the ways that online poker players protect themselves from external threats.
The Power of a Poker Name
We understand how poker names and internet profiles in general can reveal a lot about the person. But what power do they hold, if any? Some argue that screen names have no power in online entertainment. Experts may disagree with that assessment. Studies suggest that names possess a sort of social power. When an object is labeled, society’s perception of it is completely changed. The same is true for personal names and even screen names.
An excellent example would be incomprehensible usernames comprised of symbols and numbers. Inexperienced poker players may not be comfortable playing against someone with such a bizarre username because it is a complete mystery—or are they? Savvy players may deduce that the player is paranoid about their anonymity. An experienced poker player can use that information to infer something about the play style of such an individual.
However, poker names can also influence the game in one’s favor. If a poker veteran chooses a username that is popular among a younger generation and accompanies it with a picture to match, they may project an image of youthful inexperience. In doing so, they are putting their opponents at ease. In a sense, it is an electronic bluff that allows the player on the other end to hold all the cards.
