Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Lesson 302. Today the lesson is the

  • difference between a straight face and poker face. Yeah. Sometimes I'll get

  • students ask what's the difference between these two ? Because in both cases usually

  • somebody's is showing a face that shows no emotion, but you know, we'll look at

  • the different situations in which people would probably use one instead of the

  • other. All right. So let's take a look at the the note here first. If we say a

  • straight face, a facial expression that shows no emotion, especially to hide the

  • desire to laugh. Yeah. That's probably the most common reason we say a straight

  • face because we use it in humor all the time or situation where it's supposed to

  • be funny but you got to hold back and just try to keep a straight face in

  • order to not laugh. So that's probably the number one way that we use straight

  • face. All right. Let's continue. The term is often used in the idiom to keep a

  • straight face which is done to put someone at ease. Yeah. Sometimes we might

  • do it to help keep somebody calm , so they won't get too nervous or they won't get

  • upset for some reason or sometimes used in humor to tell a joke. Again. There's

  • the one with the joke. All right. Let's continue. Of course, a poker face is

  • definitely used while playing cards , so that you don't give away your cards. Now

  • of course if we say you give away your cards, it means if you show too much

  • emotion people may be able to guess what your cards were. So if you're playing

  • poker and you got a good card and you pick it up and go (showing excitement ) Everybody knows that

  • you got a good card so they'll know that your hand is probably good or even, even

  • show bad cards like pick up and . oh (expressing disappoint). If they made a face like that, everybody would

  • pretty much have a good idea how good a hand you may or may not have. All right.

  • So let's continue. So of course a poker face is definitely useful playing cards,

  • so that you don't give away your cards. That's what we mean by that, and

  • especially if you plan on bluffing. All right bluffing that's when you really do

  • have bad cards, but you pretend you have good cards and you hope that you can

  • show a lot of confidence and maybe over- bet the person and the person just gives

  • up and you can win the hand that way. Even though you really had bad cards.

  • Yeah. Or it could be other situations in life where you're bluffing. Maybe you

  • were challenged against somebody who is stronger than you , and

  • you still pretend like you are tough and you can beat them. You know, hoping that

  • they will back down. You can be bluffing too. In that sense. You could probably be

  • keeping a poker face. You're using it as a again a strategy. You know, to to deal

  • with your enemies or or deal with whoever you're dealing with. All right.

  • Let's continue. All right. Here in other situations poker face is used not to

  • give away one's motive. It s means your reasons for doing something or the real

  • reason for doing something. So you want to show no expression, so you're your

  • competitor or your enemy cannot read your face and figure out you know

  • whether he has an advantage or not. All right. Let's continue. In business if

  • someone makes you an offer that is much better than you expected it. You should try

  • to keep a poker face. So again just like when you get good cards, don't look too

  • excited . Oh you're offering me this ? Wow ! You know, act. Keep a straight face like. Oh. Okay

  • you know , maybe I'll take it. huh something like that. So again, you can

  • keep your advantage. Okay. Let's continue. All right. A straight face is used more

  • for humor. We've said that a couple of times or to avoid upsetting

  • someone or hiding your sad feelings. Maybe you yourself. You feel sad and you

  • don't want other people to realize you're sad, and you might keep a straight

  • face for that reason. All right. Let's continue. A poker face is put on. So

  • poker face is often pretended. Often as a strategy like I said it's in a plan, in

  • competitions, in battle. Definitely for playing cards but

  • especially not to lose an advantage or possibly to deceive someone. Okay good.

  • And now we're going to give examples here that will help more. That type of

  • humor in which comedians keep a straight face while telling a joke is referred to

  • as dry humor. So here, a straight face has to do with humor, comedy we definitely

  • use straight face. We would not use poker face in this situation. Number two. It was

  • difficult to keep a straight face while we were pulling a prank on her. So maybe

  • you're pulling a joke or a prank or a trick on somebody and you don't want

  • them to realize that you're pulling the trick on them. Yet you're trying to stop

  • yourself from laughing. You might think it's funny already, especially if it's

  • working. All right. Number three. Even though I was also nervous I had to keep

  • a straight face so my daughter wouldn't panic. Maybe the mother was in a

  • situation, where she herself was nervous, but she realized if she acted too

  • nervous, it would mean maybe her daughter would

  • get really panicked and scream. And that would be worse. She'd have more to deal

  • with. So she tried to keep a straight face,

  • to hide her emotion, so that her daughter would be more calm. So in that case will

  • more likely again to use straight face. Number four. When playing poker, you

  • should always keep a poker face. Of course, this is where the phrase really

  • came from. That's really the origin of the phrase poker face. When, Yes. Okay when

  • you get either very good cards or disappointing ones. Yeah. I explained that

  • part already. And number five. Lady Gaga had titled one of her hit songs,

  • \"Poker Face. \" Yeah. I did try to look up and see about this, about why did she call

  • this song \" Poker face' and she gave an explanation kind of like this. Where it's

  • partly dealing with her bisexuality and she said. That maybe if she is making

  • love with a man that you know, she might really be thinking of a woman while

  • she's making love with the man. And it's you know, she has to keep a poker face so

  • to see if the guy really you know, so that he doesn't figure out what she's

  • really thinking at that time. So anyway, that's what I read. That's what I said so.

  • So that's actually deceptive too. So again

  • poker face might be used with strategy, deception, keep an advantage when you're

  • competing. Straight face is about humor but also keeping people at ease. So that

  • they don't panic or or maybe even to sometimes hide if you're sad about

  • something and you don't want that to bother other people too. You know, I hope

  • you got it. I hope it's clear. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.

Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Lesson 302. Today the lesson is the

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it

A2 US

英語導師Nick P課程(302) 直面和撲克臉的區別。 (English Tutor Nick P Lesson (302) The Difference Between Straight Face and Poker Face)

  • 18 1
    anitawu12 posted on 2021/01/14
Video vocabulary