Poker and Music... help or hurt?

[Bradyams]

I always listen to music when playing online. It's only because it's less distracting than if I wasn't listening (I live in the dorms, so it's constantly loud around here).

[gusly]

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I have always thought of poker as a college test; fold, call, check, or raise. And I would never listen to music if I was taking an important test.

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Surgery is more complex and important than a college test, and I know of quite a few surgeons who listen to music while operating. Not with headphones, and the music is usually classical, but still...

[KingDan]

I use music when I am grinding out online, sometimes. This prevents me from getting bored. I think I get this trait for chess, when I listen to music when playing a slow game.

[Beezos]

I think listening to music in a B&M setting slows down the game. The actions gets to someone on their ipod and the respond "is it on me? what is the bet?" personally i find it to be distracting. although i did try it in a NL tournament, and i found it to take the edge off the hands where i was bluffing or all in. i won the tourney too. but in general, in a limit holdem ring game in slows the game down.

[cjx]

I'm of different opinions on it. When I play online I almost always listen to music typically stuff without lyrics, like Basil Poledouris (Conan soundtrack), The Black Mages (Nobuo Uematsu - Orchestral adaption of video games), and Minibosses (Classic NES game music redone with two guitars, bass, and drum higly recommended www.minibosses.com).

Now, having said the above, in a B&M setting I think it can be ok too. Especially if you are tired of hearing the clickity click of people playing with their chips or the ring ding ding of the slot machines, BUT it is important that you can clearly hear what is going on at the table. Since the vast majority of people cannot handle such responsibility I don't think it's a good idea in B&M as the game will more than likely slow down a bit per person listening to music.

cjx

[jskills]

I've seen this a lot and although it looks fun, like skiing with headphones on, it cannot be the best thing in the world. Like skiing, you can benefit greatly from what you hear at a Poker table (in the case of skiing it could save you from a bad crash ...)

[djhoneybear]

For anyone interested in having the best of both worlds at the poker table (music and information from other players) I suggest getting some open eared headphones. You will have to play your music at a lower volume but you will be able to hear talk at the table.

Having said this though I do think music prevents thinking at the deepest level. Calculations become slower. The benefit might be that you stay more calm during bluffing situations.

[Demana]

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Matt Lessinger wrote an article for "Poker Digest" that very forcefully argued that wearing headphones costs you money. He has stated the same position in his forthcoming book. When you are listening to music, you will CERTAINLY miss revealing comments.

Poker is a game of information management. Anything that reduces the information you receive costs you money.

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I don't think this statement is entirely correct when applied to those of us with ADD.

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That is simply an excuse.

Try working out before playing. The exercise will calm your body and let your mind focus on poker.

[coffeecrazy1]

If I had to pick something I was going to listen to over and over, Clair de Lune would not be a bad choice.

[gusly]

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That is simply an excuse.

Try working out before playing. The exercise will calm your body and let your mind focus on poker.

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Hmmm... that's a great idea! And to think I've been wasting $120 per month on my prescription. I better call up my doctor real quick and find out why he's ripping me off. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

But seriously, before you jump to conclusions about this, maybe you should read some of the research that's been done on how music affects hyperactive brains and the ability to focus. Exercise is good, too, but that alone will not do the trick for a certain segment of the population.

Sure, there's a cost associated with wearing headphones. I just don't agree that the cost will outweigh the benefit in cases where the wearer has ADD. I wasn't coming up with an "excuse," I was just expressing my opinion, which is based on my own experience and documented research. In cases where the poker player's brain works "normally," I would have no problem with the validity of the statement as phrased.