Why Do Poker Players Wear Sunglasses?
Although my readers are way too young to have played cards with Al Capone, you probably are familiar with the kitchen table version of poker introduced to America’s card game culture. Or at least, you have heard about it from your parents or grandparents. Since the late 80s, poker has undergone a renaissance, and today poker is everywhere. Poker players follow specific disciplines before they sit at the oval table. This article will reveal what poker players wear and why they wear them.
Before You Put On Your Poker Face
Although this is a game, it requires preparation. In other words, you need to learn some basics before sitting at that table and start playing. Keep in mind the following poker etiquette while playing at a land-based casino:
❌No plashing: While you play poker at a land-based casino, you should avoid tossing your chips into the center of the table where they mingle with the others. If you watched WSOP or any poker tournament, you know that poker players stack their chips neatly on the table about 18 inches in front of them.
🏳Act in turn: a poker game proceeds clockwise around the table, and each player is expected to act in turn. Although you could act out of your turn, it is considered impolite, and any of your opponents could use this to their advantage. For example, if one of your opponents knows that you are about to fold, they can more easily bluff.
👀Poker players should keep their cards on the table to maintain the integrity of the game. In other words, you should keep your cards on the table during the play of each hand. If you want to protect your hand, the best way to do that is by keeping the cards on the table, lifting a corner of each card, shielding the cards with your hands, and sneaking on them.
❌Do not discuss a hand in play: Even if you have folded your hand and are no longer contesting that pot, avoid discussing your hand with others. Because this may reveal information and give an unfair advantage to a player.
❌Do not drink too much. It is recommended to avoid drinking at a poker table. Although you can have your drink while playing, even at main poker tournaments, like WSOP, it is better to watch how much you drink. Because you could ruin the whole thing with a couple of more shots!
What Do Poker Players Wear?
Although I mentioned playing poker requires discipline and etiquette, you can still wear a specific outfit to play poker. However, poker players generally wear hoodies, headphones, poker hats, and sometimes green visors. In short, poker players wear comfortable things that help them concentrate better. Let us see why they wear those mentioned above.
6 Real Reasons Why Poker Players Wear Sunglasses While Playing
It is very unlikely to watch a poker tournament or go to a casino and don’t see people wearing sunglasses around an oval table and playing poker. Although this is not the case for online poker players, sunglasses are an iconic piece in poker players’ outfits for the following reasons:
1️⃣Poker players wear sunglasses to avoid giving away physical tells with their eyes. For those who don’t know what poker tells are, they are changes in a player’s behavior or body movements that indicate their hand strength. In other words, a tell in the game of poker refers to something you do that unknowingly indicates the strength of your hand or what your following action might be. Reading players’ tells in poker is very important, especially if their tells are unconscious and reliable. Have you heard this saying that eyes never lie? This is particularly true while you play poker. Your eyes can tell if you have a weak or strong hand. Your eyes convey every emotion you experience: joy, anger, sadness, happiness, pain, concern, etc,. Where a poker player looks or does not look during the game gives away much information. For this reason, poker players, even the most professional ones, wear sunglasses to avoid others reading their eyes.
2️⃣Believe it or not, sunglasses provide a sense of comfort and confidence, especially for poker players who are new to live games. Since 2003, poker has boomed in popularity, primarily due to online poker games and casinos. For this reason, many poker players are new to live contests, and wearing sunglasses gives them a sense of comfort and confidence. Moreover, some poker players are naturally shy and they don’t feel comfortable making eye contact or having a conversation with random people. Sunglass acts as a sort of security blanket for such players.
3️⃣The third reason is what you naturally expect from sunglass You know what I’m talking about if you have ever been to a casino before. Some lights are way too bright!
4️⃣Poker players wear their sunglasses to get into the Hat Backwards Zone! Those who watched Over The Top movie know what I am talking about. In the movie, Sylvester Stallone turns his ball cap backward whenever he wants to get into a big arm wrestling match. His intention is to get into the right mindset for the battle. Many poker players wear sunglasses while in the hand to tap into their killer instinct and get into the right mindset. They remove the sunglass when they are out of a hand. However, some poker players like to keep it all the time because it helps them to stay focused.
5️⃣This reason is simple yet elegant! Sunglasses help poker players to look cool and fashionable!
6️⃣Poker players use sunglasses as their signature. They try to use a specific color, brand, or shape of sunglass as an icon to help people recognize them easily.
Among all poker players who wear sunglasses, some of the most elite and professional players are Vanessa Ashley Rousso, Philip Courtney Laak, Kevin Hart, and the legend Antonio Esfandiari, to name a few.
Why Do Poker Players Wear Hoodies?
Although there is no single set reason poker players wear hoodies, most players are intentional in their choice. Some poker players wear ridiculous or weird outfits. Still, as long as they feel comfortable and do not break any possible casino laws, it is okay. However, your clothes of choice can send a negative or positive message to your opponents. So, be wise in what you choose to wear.
The most common reasons for poker players wearing a hoodie are as follows:
1️⃣Similar to the main reason for wearing sunglasses, poker players wear different kinds of hoodies to conceal physical tells. Especially new poker players or those new to live poker tournaments cannot effectively control their body language when they get a strong or weak hand. Wearing a hoodie, for example, an oversized hoodie can help cover their body movements.
2️⃣Poker is a mentally challenging game, and a player should stay focused all the time. For this reason, players should wear comfortable clothes. Hoodies are very comfy and keep you warm in case the casino air conditioning feels freezing.
3️⃣Hoodies help poker players to look more cool and fashionable. Younger poker players more tend to wear hoodies than the older generation players. In fact, the hoodie is an icon and a mutual language for the younger generation.
Do All Poker Players Wear Headphones?
Not all, but many poker players tend to wear headphones because it helps them to stay focused. Poker table involves many conversations, and most of them are distracting. Some players are pros in staying focused and not paying attention to the side chats. However, others cannot ignore the noise if they do not use headphones. So, poker players wear headphones to stay focused on their playing and keep distractions out of their way to winning big.
Why Do Poker Players Wear Poker Hats?
There are different types of hats poker players and poker dealers wear. Some common poker hats are:
🧢Green visors or green eyeshades
🧢Umbrella & Jester Hats
🧢Doyle Brunson’s Cowboy Hat
🧢Chris Tryba’s Lucky Cap(lucky blue “Mack” poker hat weared by Chris Tryba)
Wearing poker hats also helps in concealing eye tells. Additionally, poker caps and hats are used for advertising the tournaments’ sponsors. Another reason for wearing a poker cap is to look cool and fashionable!
To Sum It Up
Poker players have different personalities, educational backgrounds, occupations, and, therefore, wearing styles. Although there is no set dress code for poker players, many players wear hoodies, jeans, caps, and sunglasses while playing at events like WSOP. The main reason for wearing sunglasses is to avoid eye contact and conceal physical tells. Some professional poker players do not wear sunglasses to show how good they are at playing it cool and not allowing people to read their tells. However, wearing sunglass is a sort of icon for poker players. I recommend wearing one, especially if you are new to poker or live poker tournaments.
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