Sunglasses

[TBolt76]

I hear lots of people talking about sunglasses. That there is no really good applciations for it. That people only wear it because its a fad. Others say that it is used to sheild your eyes from your opponents and eliminate tells. And that others may use your eyes as to gather information to your hand.

What is everyone's opinion on the wearing of sunglasses?
Is it actually useful to wear sunglasses regularly or is it all just a fad like some have said it is.

I have my own thoughts on it and I am just wondering what if anything it does for you at the poker table.

Pro's and con's please, if there is any?


Thanks.


Tbolt76

[bomblade]

I wear sunglasses usually. One reason, is the lights get to me after a while. Another is that I'm tired and again, the lights. But it does eliminate some tells. I mostly like that the other players don't know I'm studying them. They can fool around as much as they want, and don't even know what I've picked up on.
I do think a lot of people wear them for fad reasons. To look the part. I think part of it is also image.

[brad]

i think a lot of it is that you dont feel youre (able to) be watched and studied so you kinda relax maybe.

even if a guy sits and stares at you i think that will elicit more tells if youre not wearing sunglasses because then you make eye contact.

[thebroker]

I play mostly in home games. I feel as one the best players in those games I give off less in my eyes than they do. Therefore I don't wear them because I don't want to give them any ideas.

[riffraff]

I wear my sunglasses every time I play. 1st, they are perscription and help me see the flop if I'm at one of the end seats (this is good since the end seats also let you see everyone without having to turn your head). 2nd, I like to watch people for tells and not have them know I'm watching them. Lastly I think people tend to look at you less for tells if you have your glasses on.

I think that tourists tend to be put off a bit when someone is wearing sunglasses. They tend to stereotype the player as some kind of "pro" or "expert" and I'm not sure thats the best image to have. Thats the only negative aspect I can see to wearing them.

[brad]

personally i dont wear them but i always carry them in my pocket, heh

[Pirc Defense]

It often happens that someone will get very uncomfortable under intense scrutiny. I like being able to watch someone very closely as they see the flop and throughout a hand, without them knowing it.

[D.J.]

I used to wear sunglasses all the time b/c it helped me concentrate a little better and keep to myself, also, I could look at people w/o them knowing it. However, I read an article a few months ago by Johnny Chan where he addressed the subject. He said that players wearing sunglasses tended to give off a rock, cold image and had the look of a pro/tough player. He went on to explain that if you were a tourist looking for a game or even a table to gamble your money, would you want to be at a table w/these sorts of people w/ that cold, unfriendly, serious pro image, or a table where people were not wearing sunglasses and looked more inviting and social. To me this made lots of sense, b/c if I was a tourist looking to give poker a try, I wouldn't want to be at tables w/ players like that. So, I did not wear sunglasses from then on. Not that Johnny Chan is the poker god or anything, but he is a well respected and high profile player, and his article made lots of sense. However, let me say that tournaments are different, and it's not going to make a difference as much to tourists looking to play, if you feel wearing sunglasses helps you then wear them all you want in tournaments, but as for live play I would really think about what J.C. said, and it will probably make sense to you also.

-D.J.

[Jimbo]

Personally I enjoy playing in games where many of the players are wearing sunglasses. I will intentionally miscall the suits on the board at a flop and watch to see who does a double take at the board. Another good move is to tell them they put have a wrong color chip in one of their stacks. Eventually they are more worried about misinformation than any true tells I may be giving off. Needless to say I never wear sunglasses at the poker table! /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Jimbo

[CEO]

I believe every serious poker player should wear sunglasses. In fact, while many other skills at poker may be important, I think perhaps the most important trait of any poker player, is the fact that they wear sunglasses. In addition, if the sunglasses are prescription, and polarized, even better. I think the more a poker player is willing to spend on sunglasses, the greater is their potential winning rate.

ps. This is just my personal opinion, and the fact that my company is one of the largest producers of sunglasses has nothing to do with it.

95% of my poker play is online and I would never play withouth my sunglasses. They provide relief from the glare of my computer monitor.
I never wear them when I play live.

I think it goes both ways. I've played with some of both good and bad players who wear sunglasses. It maybe intimidating to some but I judge them the way they play sunglasses or no sunglasses at all. The poor players are most probably doing it for image and maybe hallucinating that they are good. I've played with a tourist sporting an expensive-looking shades with blinders, who bought for 5 C-notes and slowly scanned the players as if sizing his opponents while stacking his chips. Three of us regulars glanced at one another maybe thinking that a pro just sat down. He was so horrible that in a hand, he capped a betting on the river with the ignorant head of a straight with a flush on the board and lost to the nut flush. His stack dwindled to 4 chips in about an hour and a half and left. One regular later commented that the tourist's shades maybe so dark that he was trying so hard to find a card on the board to call with.