I have a question, please all respond...?

The Cave Man and I talk almost every morning as he leaves home to go on his sales appointments. During working hours the SPM is somewhere in the unconscious mind and Basement Man who runs the family business answers the Cave Man's calls. But, Basement Man always shares his conversations with the Cave Man when the SPM becomes conscious. One reoccurring subject that comes up is who in the Mid West is actually beating the game. So names are tossed around and comments are made. It's the Cave Man's contention that there is no one making a good living at this game, we love so much. Of course I don't agree and we knock heads often.


But, this morning it's early and I haven't heard form the Cave Man yet. He's in his 60's but sleeps like a teenager. I started thinking about all the pro's we have playing cards at the two Casino's here in Chicago land. Then I took that visual and merged it with the visual of all the successful people I have know over the years in business. On thing came to light and I was wondering if it's true in other parts of the country.


Successful people in business usually dress for success, they seem to always be looking sharp even when they are not working. Poker pro's must get their closes from good will, because I have never seen one dressed to the nines. Now I should mention I am no close hound myself. I always look like I shop at a second hand store. But, I'm not a professional anything and what do you expect from a guy who has more names than Carter has little liver pills. So what gives with these poker pro's, what do they spend their money on or is the Cave Man right, there is no one making a living playing cards in Chicago land?


SPM,...play long and prosper...

Saw a guy at the Mirage poker room once. He was making a phone call. He was holding a full rack of black chips, another rack with some stacks of black, some green, and a big pile of $100 bills. He wore a dirty, ripped, undersized t-shirt with a picture of the Tasmanian Devil. His pants? Sweats of course, with holes. Shoes? Why, stylish hi-tops that were no more than 8 years old. Grooming? LOL. I was thinking the guy could break of one $100 bill, go to Wal-Mart, and get a whole new wardrobe and some grooming products. I also knew it wouldn't happen. He had to be a good enough player to play the bigger games. Whether he was a long term winner was another question, one I'll never know.


I think there are a lot of players who break Pokerbabe's rule. They just don't want to spend bankroll on clothes. Well, more likely they just don't care. It's not the money that keeps them from buying a razor.

the whole idea of being a poker player is that you dont have to kiss anyones butt ever, or dress to impress people. you can be yourself, say what you want and do what you want. you have to get the idea out of your head that clothes make the man, rather clothes are there to keep you warm. its the person inside the shirt that you respond to not the shirt. if you respond to the shirt you are missing the point of living with people.

I know what you are saying and know it can be a big mistake to jump to too many conclusions based on appearances. But sometimes the clothes do tell you something. In the example I gave, it was not a question of money. The guy chose to dress like that for some reason. It was also not just a question of function, because he and his clothes were dirty. That's different and is more likely to tell you something about him. Either he dressed like that for an act, or had less self-respect than the normal baseline. Basic grooming and cleanliness isn't a question of not kissing butt. If he had a clean shirt without holes and clean sweats it might be different. (Although I do know someone who believes that if you wear sweats in public you have given up life entirely. I am a comparative liberal to that guy.) That being said, it would be a mistake to underestimate the guy's intelligence or playing ability. But it also wouldn't surprise me if the guy always struggled, financially and in life in general, no matter how well he played. But I don't know that for sure and can't jump to that conclusion.

you still have that ingrained in you. holes in your clothes only mean that there are holes in your clothes. whats the big deal. it only perturbs those that think you need to dress to impress someone, and you only need to do that to get a date sometimes or a job. and in either case if it matters you dont need to be with that person.

Ray,


Most women do like it when you dress well. Let's face it most women do dress well compared to men.


I think they should make everyone dress up to go to the casinos like they do in Europe. It just looks nicer. Furthermore, I think it turns-off tourists from playing poker when they see the regulars dressed like crap. I bet that these guys would get more like ones if they did treat it like a business.


Good Luck


Mark

it is my opinion that frequent poker players are more likely to have extreme personality traits..in particular narciscism...it seems illogical to many that a narcisstic person would dress like a slob, rather than dress extremely attractively, and constantly be looking in the mirror...


however, the key issue is thumbing your nose at authority...the rules do not apply to you...you make your own rules and others have to adjust to you....jmho...gl

are ingnorant and uneducated.They need a bath and a shampoo and hair cut and a shave and they have

smelly underwear.When they go to the restroom, don't wash their hands before returning to the table. But they are not kissing anybody's buttocks.

Anyone who says poker players don't have to kiss anyone's butt probably hasn't tried to get a buffet comp from the Mirage poker room floor manager lately. ;-)


Seriously, I'm going to divide people making their livings at poker into two general classes: "poker slackers" and "poker hustlers".


Poker slackers are people who have discovered that they can get what they need to get by in life by playing cards, plus all the free drinks they can handle. They don't give a damn, and frequently are filthy slobs.


Poker hustlers approach the game as something that they depend upon for their livelihood, and so they are earnest about their approach. They work on doing everything they can to enhance their earn, and that includes cultivating the image that helps to do so. And dress, grooming, and hygeine all contribute to a person's image. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're the best-dressed players at the tables; but it *does* mean that they put consideration and effort into what they choose to wear.


A good poker hustler has to swallow frustration and hurt feelings for the sake of keeping the game, just as sales rep has to keep making nice to the customers in order to close the deal, make that commission, and keep the district manager off her back. The player who shares frustrations and anger with the other players (I plead guilty, by the way) is a poker slacker, not a poker hustler.

I was waiting in line to get a comp at the Mirage several years ago. I listened to the SS interrogation that Donna Harris was subjecting some guy in his 80's to who was in front of me,

"How long have you been playin??? What stakes have you been playing?? How many comps have you hit us up for this year....and I will VERIFY your answer, yanno!" I turned, cashed out and went to play lower stakes down town at Binion's and havent been back there since.

Alan,


You are right! The professional poker player needs to run it like a business. So, the professional will know how to maximize his profit. Dressing well and treating the customers right. I'm sure the casinos like well dressed players. Perfect example is Mason Malmuth. Everytime I've seen him in Vegas he is shaved, and dressed appropriately to fit in with the tourists.


Good Luck


Mark

desire,


The best casino for comps is Binions in Tunica. No questions about it. Whenever, I've been their they have comped me for all meals. I usually go their during the WPO in January. It's the best deal going. The rooms are better and inexpensive compared to anything in Vegas.


Good Luck


Mark

i shop at thrift stores all the time. and i think i look at least halfway decent when i enter the poker room. i mean, jeans and a t-shirt is standard fare for my crowd. perhaps an oxford or something, every once in a while when i feel like it. but i have seen some slobs at the card tables too. none of them have been winning players that i know of, though.

"it only perturbs those that think you need to dress to impress someone, and you only need to do that to get a date sometimes or a job"


Dear Ray,


I beg to disagree. I dress well whether it be at a formal dinner or a poker table. It is not to impress the other poker players or to get a date (as if you'd need to impress a poker player to get laid by one..hah), or to get a job.

I am groomed nicely and dress nicely and smell nicely because I like me that way.

Usually when I am in vegas or foxwoods or jersey I am there for several days at a time (10 -14). I play 18 hours a day and I feel grubby after awhile handling cards and such. I shower three times a day at least when I'm on the road playing poker. It was horrendous for me when most of the poker parlors were smoking rooms. My hair would actually feel weighted from the smoke.

And I would like to say that too many poker players looking like they are allergic to soap and wearing the same clothing three days in a row hurt poker players as a whole. I was told the reason the Taj increased their Bengal Club price from 5 points to 20 was because the poker players would come in there all grubby..snort, fart and burp their way through the food line, drive the bartender crazy chugging four beers post haste, not tip servers and then nap on the sofas in the reception area. I personally don't think this was solely the case. I think Trump figured his food isn't worth 5 points, so wtf..let's make it 20. Seems to be his pattern of thinking.


It seems to me that an unkempt surly smelly poker player not only detracts from a pleasant poker atmosphere but also negatively impacts the above-average-stakes occasional player. Sometimes I am sitting around a table full of less-than-clean players and the adage, "lay down with dogs, get up with fleas" becomes a mantra pounding through to my temples. Like my mother always said, "soap is cheap..clean clothes a must, use them daily and you'll never go bust."

(ok ok my mother never said that..but it sounded good)


Here's hoping you have to stand on your toes to see over your chips, Ray..see ya /images/wink.gif

you made my point thank you. you should dress how you want to. to each his or her own. but you cant put your standards on someone else. good luck dear.

well, what do you wear in your living room?


brad