There is something about the card game playing fantasy that people deeply connect with. Sitting at a green felt table staking you against the rest of the table, which feels like the world, is a feeling that most people can relate with. People like to make comparisons to playing five card stud, because the game mirrors so much in life. Games like five card stud and Texas hold ’em deal with risk, bravery, deception, and luck. It could be that bluffing is one of the most used metaphors because it is applicable to a myriad of situations in life. Bluffing is putting yourself and your word on the line.

A great deal of card game metaphors are direct connections between the game and being in love. There are elaborate phrases that are constructed to make people acknowledge that love is a big game with winners and losers. There are numerous circumstances that require a person to rely on luck to deal with risk. Everyone, at some point in their love life, bets big on a hand that has less than a ten percent chance hoping that the river card will turn their situation around. Both love and wagering card games are risky. When you are in love you put your heart on the line and you risk it getting broken, but with card games you put your money on the table and run the risk of ending up broke. Love deals with risk, lies, bravery, and luck just like wagering on card games. Relationships require the same amount of strategy as a card game. You have to consider the other players and possible outcomes and possibilities.

Another realm in which bluffing metaphors are common is when making big decisions in life. Sometimes you have to take a risk is the usual message that is sent across. There are moments in life when you don’t have control of a situation, but you have to talk a big game to keep face. Even though you cannot back up your big words sometimes you get rewarded and you don’t have to prove that you can. If you talk loud enough (bluff) then you settle a situation without fighting. There are, of course, an abundance of sources of conditions in which people bluff to get ahead or achieve goals.

People relate the pressure felt at the card table. At some moment in their life they have been faced with a big decision where they had almost nothing to offer but a lot to lose and the just go for it. It is the bravery and the boldness of character that people admire in a good bluff. The reason why people allude to bluffing is because they feel there is stoicism about a poker player that they admire and relate to. There is an inherit understanding amongst humans in regarding competition and out-smarting competition to win. Everybody wants the clever underdog to pull ahead and win. That is the lure that drives people to utilize the bluffing metaphor.

Sam McKenzy
Omaha

by Sam McKenzy

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