Psychology of strategic deception revealed by online poker

Online poker offers new insights into the mind-set of scheming Machiavellians, researchers have found. Researchers from Lancaster University and the University of Helsinki show that the card betting game can be used as a novel way to better understand the psychology of strategic deception. Before now, the trait has rarely been studied in natural settings outside laboratories. Individuals who engage in amoral and deceptive manipulation, and who tend to seek control over others and gain status for themselves are often described as Machiavellian - after the infamous Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance diplomat and author of The Prince. In the paper 'Machiavelli as a poker mate - a naturalistic behavioural study on strategic deception' (published by the journal Personality and Individual Differences) researchers show that people with high Machiavellian traits are likely to bluff (pretend they have a strong hand by betting strongly) at a similar rate as low-Machiavellians. However, when they do bluff they bluff bigger. Researchers believe this could be because they like to be in control of situations and relationships.