Serious Question: Sunglasses advice!

[LargeCents]

I played in my first tournament last night. I have only played online poker so far, besides a few dorm room games in college. I've ween watching the WPT, and all of the TV poker that I can stand, and notice the typical strategy of wearing sunglasses and hats, etc. I like the idea, and want to have sunglasses at least as an option, to play around with, to see if I like to use them.

Well, last night, I brought my driving sunglasses, and put them on a few times, just too get a feel. But, I hated wearing them because it wasn't really all that bright in "card room" to begin with. I had a hard time telling the colors of my chips, etc. I obviously had a pair of sunglasses that weren't optimal.

My question is this: What kind of sunglasses do any of you guys recommend? Is there a few brands that the pros swear by? Is there a certain tint factor or anything that I should consider when buying them? I think my personal comfort and style is the main factor for me. But, I want to see the damn cards also. I know, I know, I should take a few poker chips, and a deck of cards along when I shop for sunglasses. But, I figured I'd troll around on here to get some insight.

Thanks,
--Cents

[prairieboy]

Why even bother? You're obviously still just getting comfortable with live play, why are you adding an additional distraction to your game?

Forget the gimics and focus on the fundamentals.

[LargeCents]

Wow, I must have hit a nerve, thanks for all of the response guys.

prairieboy hit the nail on the head. Sunglasses are a pretty negligible factor at this point in my development. Hell, at our tournament, we were ALL just a bunch of fish flopping around. I doubt a single legitimate read was made all evening. Luckily, I have enough online experience to know some poker fundamentals. I would say 80% of the guys had an alcoholic drink in their cupholder. Although, we were just playing for T-shirts and Ball caps. But, it was quite a rush for me to feel some real felt. I gotta get a felt mouse pad for playing poker online! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

My main reason for testing the waters with sunglasses is the simple idea that "looking good is feeling good". If I feel good, I'll play better, etc. With everything else equal, I think sunglasses might just give a little psychological edge. But if not, at least I look cool. As for the rest of my attire, I was very comfortable in Blue Jeans, Skateboarder shoes, and a nice Fleece sweatshirt. Ahhhh, Fleece.



Peace,
--Cents

[Lazymeatball]

I often find that guys who wear regular prescription lenses and a baseball cap with the visor pulled over the glasses get a good reflective effect. You can still kind of see their eyes but it makes it much harder to tell what they are looking at. And they get the added bonus of not looking like a punk with sunglasses at the table. Personally I don't have prescription glasses so I usually sport a pair of aviators and look like a punk.

[B Dids]

I've been practicing at home. This is me on Party.



(OK, it's actually me trying to look like a cheesedick, but I do wear my perscription sunglasses in tournaments, but it's mostly just so that people take me less seriously.

[toots]

cheesedick.

Good word.

[nothumb]

I have to say, I try to have a mean poker face without needing the sunglasses. But they're pretty popular at this point and I do like to wear them sometimes too. My favorites are a pair of 5 dollar dark welder/carpenter glasses that I found at a hardware store. Very easy to see through but have fairly reflective lenses.

One thing I noticed when I started wearing sunglasses was that I started making more plays. People expect you to make more plays when you put on glasses (or at least the people I played with did) and I actually did, stupidly. When I put on the glasses I play tighter and just try to ACT like an idiot.

[RPatterson]

Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen don't wear sunglasses, case closed!

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Don't forget Howard Lederer, Layne Flack and TJ Cloutier.

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't forget Howard Lederer, Layne Flack and TJ Cloutier.

[/ QUOTE ]

By golly, I think you're on to something.

I just noticed that Dewey Tomko, Erik Seidel, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negraneau, John Juanda, Barry Greenstein, Men the Master Nguyen, Carlos Mortenson, Dan Harrington, Mel Judah, Julian Gardner, Andy Block and Ron Rose don't wear sunglasses either.

How the hell do these guys ever win?