As if he wasn’t talented enough already! Michael Cera, one of Hollywood’s youngest and most promising stars, has apparently got a real talent for playing poker.

Apparently Cera has been cleaning up while playing poker with his co-stars during downtime on the set of his newest film Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. While the reports are that he plays and cleans up like a shark, he remains quite humble about his poker prowess. "I wouldn't say I'm great," he told PEOPLE, but he did concede that his co-stars "didn't know what they were getting into … I play in a really good game in L.A. with really good players, people who are a few levels above me.” He also added, "I just try to walk away with my money from that game, and that's made me a better player."

Cera’s co-star Johnny Simmons added:  "He's a damn good poker player, and he takes all your money” and “Michael and Keiran Culkin are shark-level. I lost so much per diem to those guys."

Michael is not always lucky when it comes to gambling though. They apparently also frequented the local casino during filming, where he says he lost any of the winnings he made in poker while playing at the casino.

With a series of cult classics already to his name, perhaps it’s Michael’s penchant for risk that got him so far in Hollywood at such a young age. 

Former FBI agent, Joe Navarro, and mind-set coach, Sam Chauhan were part of a team of poker and mind-set coaches all giving seminars in the WSOP Academy, a poker training academy that took place prior to this year’s WSOP. While neither of these 2 men are poker pros they are both experts in poker-relevant fields; Navarro in body language and Chauhan in mind power.

Navarro has 25 years experience as a federal agent working in counterintelligence and looking for various tells in people. Tells are mostly unconscious indications of what a person is really thinking. Navarro is an expert at picking up his students’ tells and making them aware of them so that they can change them.

Chauhan, on the other hand, coaches students on how to internally clear themselves of the anxiety and self-doubt that is often what separates a good player from the best.

"If we know what we're looking for, those behaviours can very accurately predict what a person is thinking, what they're feeling, what their desires are and what their intentions are," Navarro has said. Navarro also adds that a consistent signal of a player holding a strong hand is when a player holds his/her cards with fingers pressed together upward. Players will hold onto the cards of a good hand as if they are precious and conversely, if they are holding cards "as if it were a dirty diaper," it is generally an indicator of a bad hand.
Navarro has identified over 200 tells. Many of the tells are in the face or hands but some are in less obvious places like the chest or the feet.

Chauhan takes a bit more of an esoteric stance:  "You may not be able to control what other people do, but what you can do is not be someone who is sabotaging yourself and that you know you are capable of doing anything as long as you put your mind to it." Learning how to maintain this mind-set in the highly stressful environment of the WSOP are what Chauhan’s seminars are structured to assist with.

Poker pro, Gavin Smith, is one of Chauhan’s clients. Smith says of Chauhan: "What Sam did was make me look at how good I really had it, especially when you consider what other people are going through," and "You can say that one of things he is, is a cheerleader. He helps me visualize where I want to go, what I have to do to get there, and be more grateful for what I have." Smith went on to win a Canadian tournament for over $188,000 this year as well as also taking a mixed hold’em event for over $268,000 with his first title bracelet.

So it seems in order to really get ahead in this game you need to learn how to control your irrational thoughts and emotions that promote self-doubt.

He rapidly became one Germany’s most beloved mascots because he seemed to be able to accurately predict who would win each match of the World Cup. This was great for Germany and they loved Paul the Octopus...while they were winning that is. As stated in a previous post, angry soccer fans have been venting their displeasure at Das Krakenorakel, as he is known in Germany, for unpatriotically but accurately, predicting that Spain would win the semi-final.

Daniel Fey, Paul’s expert handler, reported that: "People send us recipes in threats." The German press has reported that angry mobs converged in Berlin post-game, chanting anti-octopus songs. Sea Life Aquarium has reported that Paul is safe despite the threats and that he has “very good people looking after him.” Pheuw!

On the other side of Europe and the other side of the popularity polls, Paul is being celebrated. The Spaniards are calling him “Pulpo Paul” (Pulpo means octopus in Spanish- original) and it is reported that some restaurants in Spain have removed Octopus from their menus in honour of the psychic mollusc.

He’s latest prediction is that Spain will win the final- don’t shoot the messenger though- we’re keeping our predictions amongst ourselves.

In a country that could be well on its way to banning poker it seems rather ironic that the very system that these politicians are part of has a rich history of poker playing. Poker and politics have always seemed to enjoy each other’s company, so why is it suddenly such a taboo game amongst politicians?

Gambling has become a controversial topic throughout the US and is even a felony in some states where the ability to transfer money has been restricted resulting in players shying away from playing because they could face severe penalties.

There are some within politics and law who are contesting the anti-poker campaign, but most people in the Senate and other political circles vehemently oppose gambling.

Historically, it has been noted that presidents and other political figures liked spending their down-time playing golf, drinking and playing poker. Why do our present day political figures oppose gambling when it is in their political blood to play it? Are they denying their rich heritage and perhaps missing out on a game that could forward their careers?

Presidents Harding, Nixon, Truman and Obama all enjoyed or enjoy a good session of poker, cigars and whiskey into the early hours. Harding is reported to have played poker at least two times every week and once, when times were tough, gambled away a set of the White House’s valuable china.

President Truman played poker on his extended boat vacations. Nixon played poker during World War II and it is said that “he became such a dedicated player that he once turned down a chance to have dinner with Charles Lindbergh when it conflicted with a poker game.” It is also rumoured that a great deal of the money he used to finance his first congressional campaign was funded by poker winnings.

It is said that President Barack Obama has a passion for poker. He is reported to have the ultimate “stone face” and never stays in hands if he doesn’t think he'll win it.   

Other powerful people who enjoy the game include Bill Gates who was an avid player during college and once said to his college roommate that he “believed poker marathons were at least as productive and intellectually stimulating as time spent in class...”

So the question is once again raised: why are so many contemporary politicians fighting pro-poker legislation? Is it a bid to take the ‘moral’ high ground to gain popularity and votes in these uncertain times? It seems sad that these politicians are blatantly denying the importance of poker in US political history.

Love that title! CEO turned professional poker player, Tom Schneider, wrote a book of this title after noticing that there were a host of similarities between the worlds of business and gaming. The book is an account of Tom’s extensive boardroom and poker experience in how to read people. He provides stories that are funny and educational as well as accounts of the games he has played, the people he has played against and the hands that he has won with. There’s some good, some bad and some ugly in this book. 

One of the interesting chapters is about players who have found themselves in a “spin cycle” which he defines as when players experience a series of misfortunes at the poker table as a result of difficulties they are experiencing away from the table. Tom reckons it’s not a good time to play poker when you’re going through a divorce or any other highly stressful situation because he says:  “it’s not easy to play poker when you’ve got problems.” These factors are one of many that are categorised as “noise”. “Noise” is anything that will contribute to breaking your concentration and losing at the table. He then adds some “active” noise reduction techniques in order to get out of the “spin cycle”. Firstly be aware of actually being there and avoid making big decisions when you are. Secondly, make a checklist in order to ensure that all personal matters are settled before play so that you can “play in peace”.

He also has an interesting stance on the ‘playing for the money or the love’ debate: “make sure you have the important things in life done first before you try to make money in any endeavour, because winning is more important than playing. If you continue to win you can continue to play.”

There are a lot of mistakes commonly made in poker both by newbie’s and even by the professional poker players, so a player should know what they are in order to avoid them, and here are some of the common mistakes made by poker players.

Being Emotional

The biggest mistake that one can do in poker is becoming too emotional.  By showing too much emotion, you are making it easy for others to read you and act accordingly depending on your outward emotions, unless, of course, that is a part of your strategy.  But too much emotion on the table like cursing or cussing not only makes you appear foolish but it also makes you look like a sore loser and a brat, so put on your poker face and let them continue guessing about what is on your mind.

Too Careless

You can become careless in a lot of things when you are playing poker.  First off, you might not be protecting your cards that well.  For this reason, you need to always remember to put a hand over your cards and protect them from peeping Toms.  Likewise, you also have to be careful and always have your eyes to your own cards and not on other players’ cards.  Your innocent glance to your side might be mistaken for looking at another player’s cards, so do not be too careless so as not to be called a cheater.

Always Taking Things at Face Value

Another common mistake that a newbie or even a pro makes is to always take things at face value.  For example, just because a player frowns does not mean that he or she has a bad card.  Instead, it could mean that the player has a very good hand and was just using a ruse to confuse other players into thinking what the player wants them to think.  For this reason, you have to avoid taking things at its face value and start studying facial expressions and learn when they are bluffing and when they are not.

Folding as Opposed to Checking

Do not be too rash and fold during your turn when you do not like the turn or the flop.  Remember, you can check if you are the first one to act.  Now, when all the players have also checked, you will have the opportunity to see the next card.  This happens to be true, too, if you do not happen to be the first one to act.  When all players have checked before your turn, you should also check so as to find out what the next card is.  Who knows?  That next card might just be the winning card that will make your hand win, so do not fold just yet.

Not Knowing the Tilt

Another mistake that players make in poker is not knowing when they are on the tilt.  Remember, if you are on a losing streak, let the game go and just fold.  Do not try to recoup your loses, thinking the next round will be a better round and make you win back what you have lost.  It is better if you relax for a moment or even stop for the day before playing poker once more.