Why do people wear sunglasses in low-limit and mid-limit holdem games?

[Sully]

[ QUOTE ]
Some people name them selves after a character in Rounders. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

JK man. No offense intended.

[/ QUOTE ]

Now THAT is funny...and couldn't be more accurate. Hi pot, meet kettle.

[Whistlr]

I rarely wear sunglasses at low and mid-limit tables; when I do it's because I've made a goal to hone a better feel for the game by analyzing every move a guy (or the hot girl across the table in the low cut dress) might make in his (her) decision making. Sure, I could do that without sunglasses, but I don't want to worry about behaving in a socially unacceptable manner. I want to assess and analyze with complete freedom.

I also like to leave my headphones on when I'm not even listening to music. It's great to a) avoid being expected to respond to whatever drivel someone might otherwise expect you to reply to, and b) hear what people might say when they don't think you're listening, [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Hey, my virgin post. Salut.

-) Whistlr

[The_Tracker]

[ QUOTE ]
You guys look like idiots, you're not accomplishing anything, and you're likely driving off the type of player that you want at your table.

Put yourself in the shoes of a recreational fish, who is there to gamble, socialize and have a good time. Which of the following tables are you most likely going to want to sit at:

a) a bunch of sour, silent, serious, brooding guys with baseball caps, sunglasses and headphones

or

b) a table of cheerful people who look and dress like you do?

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree.

I currently live in a state without gaming (except the indian reservations) so therefore I play lots of home games and amatuer league tourneys at the local bars. I have yet to come across many players around here I would consider to be on the same level of understanding of the game. I have a small group of friends I play with regularly that are pretty good, but they truthfully, learned from me. The first time I played at an APL tourney at the radisson hotel with field of over 300, I won. First live tourney. I have only been playing for about 2 years and crafted my game online, but I own the people around here.

Ego aside, point being is that I often wear sunglasses while playing and took a bit of offense to your post. I have also had people on more than one occasion, say something to the effect of "oh lord, this guy is putting on glasses." or "he's trying to be like the guys on TV". This is all funny, and always before I have taken their money for the evening.

In my experience, this does not scare off the fish. It is a matter of your persona behind the glasses. If you play it off as a joke as well, then it works well. It all about acting. Building a table persona. If you want to laugh and think I am silly for wearing glasses that's fine. I will admit I wear glasses because I don't want people to see me staring at them. I tell them this as well and they when the say they don't care, I take them off and stare at them. I don't know about you, but 95% of the course of the hand I am NOT looking at my cards, or the cards on the board. I prefer to not let people see what I am looking at, as it might give them an idea as to what to look at.

Cuz lord knows, most of the fish around here are looking at two things and two only. Their hand and their chips.

[toots]

[ QUOTE ]

Cuz lord knows, most of the fish around here are looking at two things and two only. Their hand and their chips.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's because it'd take a different prescription for them to look at the only thing they think matters more.

[Bluff Daddy]

Johnny Chan had an article just like this post in cardplayer

[Lawrence Ng]

Deacsoft,

I wear sunglasses for two reasons:

1. I am tired, I do not want opponents to see I am tired. But my yawns usually give it away.

2. The light is way too bright for me.

Sunglasses and baseball caps and walkmans/cd players do not make people anti-social. Anti-social people make people anti-social.

Ask anyone in Vancouver who plays with me and you will find I love to talk it up on the table and ramble on about anything to pass time while not in a hand. My baseball cap and sunglass image mean squat. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[Al_Capone_Junior]

After reading yours and SinCity's posts, I just gotta say...

Gimme a break!

[ QUOTE ]
You dont see Howard Lederer, Gus Hansen or Phil Ivey wearing shades

[/ QUOTE ]

Gimme a break #1. NEED I REALLY go into a "name dropping frenzy" (such as this) to point out top pros who DO wear sunglasses?

Gimme a break #2. Not everyone wears hats or shades to cover up tells.

Gimme a break #3. Not everyone who wears glasses is subsequently less disciplined because of their choice to wear glasses.

Gimme a break #4. Not everyone is an antisocial jerk at the table solely due to their wearing sunglasses or hats. Some, including me, are usually quite sociable at the table, regardless of headgear.

There is a HUGE spectrum of people, and reasons, for wearing sunglasses or headgear. While SOME people DO fit these extreme descriptions, certainly not ALL do.

I wear sunglasses while playing. But I usually have them flipped up between hands, thus allowing me to socialize more easily. I don't wear them to cover up tells, I wear them so that other players don't notice what I watch during the hand, particularly not if it's them and THEIR tells/telegraphs.

I also sometimes wear hats, but I don't hide behind them like a moron, I usually wear them up and out of my face, and their general purpose is to block out the bright lights that are often shining directly in my eyes in the cardroom, not "to hide my blatant tells."

I agree that wearing headphones is just plain silly. Why on earth anyone would NOT want to listen to the conversation at the table is beyond me. I guess they value their own perception of their own supposed "pro-ness" than the often very valuable information spewing forth from their opponent's never ending yakking about how they play.

My suggestion is that if you are at my table, you retain the ability to discard your stereotypes in light of new information, because I wear glasses, and I don't fit the extreme stereotypes that are portrayed in this thread at all. First impressions have some value, but the ability to revise your opinions in the light of new information is far more valuable.

al

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Yep, that's right. You make a summary judgement that covers all situations and all people for all times and it's instantaneously pure undeniable and inarguable fact.

Thanks sooooo much. I'm writing it all down now.

al

[MoreWineII]

I don't think that it scares off players, however I do agree that it's silly.

[jerome baker]

cuz my eyes looks [censored] up.