Well, the other day I caught some poker on TV (at a sports bar, as I don’t have service) and noticed one player has a giant set of ski goggles covering his face. In addition to being the goofiest thing on television, I started thinking about the entire bit.
There’s something about this whole thing which bothers. Maybe I’m just being old-fashioned, but were I just running the game, I’d ban all sunglasses, hats, hoods, & etc. There’s several thoughts to this:
(1) It’s tacky as hell. Yes, I’m old-fashioned, and a gentleman does not wear such things indoors.
(2) There’s covering for a weakness and then there’s acting like a moron. If your poker face is so bad that you actually need ski goggles, you may be in the wrong game.
(3) The whole bit seems like ridiculous bit of showing off.
But I will acknowledge the above are relatively trivial and personal issues, and was curious as to what the board’s poker aficionados think. Are you all for it? Does it bother you? Ever destroyed somebody’s stack because you saw the reflection of their cards in that pair of $500 ski goggles?
I’m personally of the same opinion; it looks ridiculous. Watching some donkey in a $120 tournament put on his shades to hide his brilliant moves while he makes ridiculous errors (perhaps in part because he can’t see the damned cards) is about as irritating as it gets. Take off your sunglasses, Corey. It really doesn’t help, ya know.
Enforcement might be a bit difficult. Whaddya do about the douche who thinks to wear PRESCRIPTION shades? Bans on hats will be impossible - for some men a baseball cap is basically required attire.
It’s the earbuds that really bug me, just because I like a little chatter and banter at the table and some guy with earbuds is separating himself from everybody else.
Does anyone know whether there are *any *rules about what’s allowed at a WSOP table and what isn’t?
Just because some people like to wear hats all the time, that doesn’t mean it is “impossible” to ban them for wearing one for the duration of a poker tournament. Personally, I agree with the OP and think the game would be better if all headwear and eyewear (except prescription glasses) were banned. Of course, you may get someone who genuinely needs to wear darkened lenses for medical reasons - I would allow that, if they can produce a doctor’s certificate to prove it. But none of that is ever going to happen because like a lot of things, poker is a commercial enterprise and these changes would deter more people than they attract. In particular, if online players with obvious physical tells can hide such with sunglasses, they are more likely to enter online satellites for live poker events.
Earbuds don’t bother me as much, unless it means said player is constantly holding up play by being slow to realise when the action is on them. I agree they are missing out on one of the most fun parts of poker, but that’s their choice.
I think some of the more unique methods are done less for obscuring tells and more for gaining notoriety. Think how much media attention Phil Laak got for his unabomber look. Think you’d know his name if it was based only on his poker skills? Maybe ski goggles guy is hoping to make a similar name for himself with a silly trademark.
Phil Laak, the player you saw, annoys the hell out of me. Apparently he is very book smart, but his histrionics grate on me. As for sunglasses and iPods, they don’t bother me, but I concur iPods can hold up play.
