From Bluff to Backstory: The Surprising Strategy Link Between Poker and Comic Book Heroes

We tend to think of strategy as a dramatic occurrence, something that takes place during climactic moments in the film. We conceive of it as happening rarely, before pivotal events, even before the action of a scene begins. In movies we frequently fail to notice that many strategies are constantly at work in almost every scene. Even an apparently hopeless battle between opposing forces is a highly strategic exercise in trying to decide when to attack and how to outmaneuver the opponent, a duel of wits. Characters in films engage in extensive psychological struggles not only against their enemies, but also in their internal competition with other characters at the table, like a poker game.

I know this may seem utter bollocks but I am having a bit of trouble getting my head round the fact that poker and comic books are connected. What on earth could there be between a card game that is essentially a random gamble of who can work out the chances of the game and the skill levels of the other opponents and an American form of art made from drawings and descriptions of made up stories to teach right from wrong with fantastic, exaggerated illustrations of superheroic fights between fairytale characters? At the heart of them, it seems that misdirection and working out what an opponent is trying to do is at the very core of both poker and comic books.

Poker Is a Game of Hidden Information

Poker, by its very nature, is a game of missing information. It’s an unavoidable factor of the card game, and the truth of the matter is that players will never be in a position to know what their opponents are holding in their hand. While they do have the opportunity to see their own two hole cards, as well as the community cards that are dealt face up on the table based on the previous actions of other players, there’s always a lot of missing information when trying to decipher what opponents might be holding. Because of this, players must balance the elements of a solid strategy, which involve an interplay of logical, emotional and aggressive components.

It’s common in comic books for the hero to have little idea of the plans of the villain. The hero may make educated guesses as to what the plans might be, and will have to work out how to ,lprevent whatever nefarious activity is currently underway. Exposition is often devoted to the process of the hero working out the details of the villain’s plans; figuring out the villain’s scheme, deciding what the hero can do to prevent it, and reacting to the events as they unfold. And so it is with poker. Exposition is the process of filling in the blanks to work out what is going on. In poker it is the process of filling in the blanks to work out the plan of the other players at the table.

Why are some comic book moments memorable? Is it the intent of the writer? The creativity of the artist? The talent of the characters? I believe it is a risk. The idea that a character in a comic book can find itself in a precarious or vulnerable situation is at the very core of the medium. Every time a hero charges head first into battle, every time a villain hatches a plan, every panel is a gamble. Comic books are a never-ending game of poker.

Comic Heroes as Strategic Thinkers

Why are certain characters so loved by so many? I’d argue that it’s less about the raw power of the character, and more about the fact that many of the most popular characters in comics are highly strategic.

Even the most casual of Bat-fans would probably say that Batman is the first character on this list. Maybe not the strongest, maybe not the fastest but he always seems to be ready for whatever the world throws his way. Because Batman is always ready. He knows that in order to be one with the darkness he has to study his enemies, understand what they plan on doing and when they plan on doing it and always be in the right place at the right time. Sounds a little like the game of a well rounded poker player to me.

As you probably know, Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, is quite a brainy and resourceful character. He is a very logical person, but at the same time very inventive and always has all the solutions at hand. He is also very flexible and can change ideas quickly. A good poker player also needs to be able to cope with many different situations at the table. Let’s take for example the Texas Hold’em cash game and suppose that at the table a player is sitting who for some time now has been playing with an open range of hands, but who suddenly changed his strategy by choosing a much narrower range of hands to play. In this case there was a complete change in table dynamics and it is necessary for the other player to quickly adjust to these table dynamics.

Villains are strategic. Lex Luthor, Doctor Doom, these guys aren’t raging into battle waving machine guns. They plan, they scheme, they bide their time. And so do poker players. Patiently building a trap, until it is too late for their opponents to do anything but react to the damage that has already been done.

Bluffing and Mind Games

Bluffing is probably the most commonly used poker strategy and is heavily based in the psychological aspects of the game. A player may bluff by betting or raising with a hand that is believed to be less competitive than the hand they are trying to eliminate from the competition. Conversely, a strong hand may be disguised by playing it down in an effort to lure the opponents into making the crucial play.

Comic books use the same principle constantly.

So, you know how in any game, a real bluffer is one who fakes out their opponents by pretending to have abilities they don’t really have in order to gain an advantage? I feel like in literature, characters bluff all the time in an attempt to make it seem like they are better at things than they really are. And it’s often played out with the main character hiding their true abilities and powers until the right moment to reveal them, just to make the impact bigger. Sometimes the whole ruse of the story is itself a bluff; to lead the reader in one direction in order to surprise them with the truth at the very end.

Strategy in the Modern Poker World

Modern poker is a relatively new concept within the centuries old history of poker. An extremely old game will bear little to no resemblance to modernity. A game that is 100’s of years old and has evolved to the modern pace at which a modern player can play the modern game is almost incomprehensible. A modern player’s brain is capable of so many factors at such a quick pace, in a modern game it’s a combination of pre-flop pot odds and a wealth of knowledge and information that a player has acquired after thousands of hours of playing poker, all in a never-ending quest to improve and develop better tactics and concepts in the search for an advantage at the poker table.

The way we play poker has also changed due to technology. It is not as rare as it used to be that a poker player is not sitting at a real table. Instead, they choose to play online poker against other players from all over the world. This option has become much more popular than playing at a real table, and therefore it is more common to practice poker tactics at an online table.

If you enjoy strategy games in a mental sense then you may enjoy playing online poker. The principles of the online game remain the same and the skills that have always defined a good poker player are still present. A player needs to remain calm, observe others and play cards in a time effective manner.

Why Strategy Makes Both Worlds Timeless

At its core, the relationship between poker and comics is rooted in one key concept: the idea of choice vs. action. A hand is exciting when the decision at the end is fold, call or go all in on my stack. A comic book is exciting when it feels like pivotal choices are being made and having a huge impact on where the character ends up.

Poker and comic books are forms of storytelling. In poker, the first form of storytelling using language and images is on the cards and in the pictures that form in the mind. The second form of storytelling is on the poker table using cards and chips. Both forms of storytelling have their plots, conflicts, climax and dramatic turns. Common to both are the elements of dramatic tension and the never-ending battle of wits.