Why Do Poker Players Wear Sunglasses?
Written by
Joe - Poker PlayerLast updated:
September 19, 2024
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.
In this article, I will reveal what poker players wear and the actual reasons behind their dress code.
Key Takeaways:- Poker games can be long, so clothing that allows for ease of movement and is comfortable for extended periods is essential.
- Many poker players use their dress and style to project a certain image or persona, whether it's confidence, aggression, or a more casual approach.
- Factors like the environment, the type of poker game, and personal preferences influence clothing choices.
- Items like hats, sunglasses, and jewelry can be used to complete a poker player's look and potentially influence their image or psychology.
Poker Basics Every Beginner Must Know
Poker is a game, but it requires preparation. In other words, you need to learn basics of how to act before sitting at that table and start playing. Keep in mind the following poker etiquette specially when playing live poker 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.
- Keep your cards on the table to maintain the integrity of the game: 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!
Poker Dress Code: What Do Poker Players Wear?
Although I mentioned playing poker requires discipline and etiquette, you can still wear whatever you feel comfortable in. However, poker players generally wear hoodies, headphones, poker hats, and sometimes green visors. Players wear comfortable things that help them concentrate better during the game.
Let me uncover why they wear specific clothing and accessories.
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The Psychology Behind Wearing Sunglasses: 6 Actual Reasons
It is very unlikely to watch a poker tournament or go to a casino and not 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:
- Poker 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 poker game refers to something you do, which unknowingly shows 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.
- Believe 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 don’t feel comfortable making eye contact or conversing with random people. Sunglasses act as a security blanket for such players.
- The third reason is what you naturally expect from sunglasses. If you have ever been to a casino, you know what I’m talking about. Some lights are way too bright!
- Poker 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.
- This reason is simple yet elegant! Sunglasses help poker players to look cool and fashionable!
- Poker players use sunglasses as their signature. They try to use a specific color, brand, or sunglass shape as an icon to help people recognize them easily.
Among all poker players who often 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?
Wearing a hoodie is not a poker etiquette or a dress code. Most players are intentional in what they choose to wear. Some players wear ridiculous or weird outfits, and some hot female poker players wear revealing or sexy outfits to possibly distract their male opponents.
One of the most insane incidents happened during a live-stream poker event called Max Pain Monday, where Sashimi suffered multiple nip slips during the game. The incident quickly went viral, with hundreds of haters and supporters fighting on social media. Later, it turned out that she was actually wearing fake prosthetic breasts as part of a joke to distract her male competitors. While many viewers found it entertaining, pro female poker players and those concerned about keeping poker a professional game where people compete with their gaming skills strongly criticized it. Negative comments made Sashimi apologize for the scene on her Instagram page.
Regardless of the type and intention of the dress, as long as the player feels comfortable and does 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:
- Similar 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.
- Poker 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.
- Hoodies 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 that poker players and poker dealers wear. Some of the most common and popular 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 wore 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!
Final Thoughts
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.
