A blank expression, also known as poker face is a facial expression

Facial expression

A facial expression one or more motions or positions of the muscles in the skin. These movements convey the emotional state of the individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information among humans, but also occur...

 characterized by the neutral position of facial features and implies a lack of strong emotion. It may be caused by a lack of emotion

Emotion

Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...

, boredom

Boredom

Boredom is an emotional state experienced when an individual is without any activity or is not interested in their surroundings. The first recorded use of the word boredom is in the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens, written in 1852, in which it appears six times, although the expression to be a...

, slight confusion

ConFusion

ConFusion is an annual science fiction convention organized by the Stilyagi Air Corps and its parent organization, the Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association. Commonly, it is held the third weekend of January. It is the oldest science fiction convention in Michigan, a regional, general SF con...

 (such as when someone refers to something which the listener does not understand) a deliberate attempt to disguise one's emotions, such as when playing poker

Poker

Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

 giving rise to popular term, poker-faced , or a sign of depression. It is also the expression most common while asleep.

Early usage of the term, poker face, outside the game of poker, was seen in 1920s by American sportswriters, describe player appearing unaffected during stressful games. It used is often by Mental health professionals with their patients and by marketeers and salespeople during business negotiations.

In popular culture

The term poker face has been used often in media, for example, Lady Gaga

Lady GaGa

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

's song, "Poker Face

Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)

"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world...

" (2008) and television game show, PokerFace (2006–2007).