Shades or No Shades?
I don’t hear this subject come up often which is surprising actually…but I read a blog by Daniel Negreanu that he recently did for PokerNews.com and I found it interesting to think about.
Should wearing sunglasses at the poker table be banned?
I guess I’d lean toward banning them (since I don’t wear them) though I have worn them in the past. From time-to-time if I’m running bad or on a cold streak I may put them on just to change things up. It can sometimes help me to focus more, blocking out things around me, it can feel like I’m in my own little world and nobody can see me. If I do use them I use them more for my own concentration than I do to not give off tells. People tend to talk to me less about random topics if they can’t make eye contact.
Its much more difficult for players to keep it together when in a big pot if they can’t hind behind shades. We’ve all been in that uncomfortable situation where our opponent is staring us down and we’re trying to figure out where and how to look so we don’t give the wrong signal (or the right signal). If you’re wearing sunglasses, its easy to sit behind them and not give off any tells.
Here’s what Daniel Negreanu had to say:
I can’t wait to play poker tomorrow! I’m so freaking excited about this show. I put in a decent amount of work on my 6 handed game online and I feel really good about it. That, plus I had a bit of an epiphany poker wise while in Monte Carlo. All signs to me doing well, but we shall see.
One thing I love about our show, is that FINALLY there is a rule in place where you can’t hide like a chicken behind sunglasses! I swear every TV producer should ban sunglasses entirely from any televised event. They are so bad for poker on so many levels. Poker wouldn’t be on TV if everyone wore hoodies and sunglasses to hide their eyes.
I’m so happy when I see online guys like Tom Dwan, Patrik Antonius, and Phil Galfond man up by not hiding behind shades. The majority of the best players in the world DO NOT wear sunglasses. One of the biggest differences between live and online poker is the ability to see your opponent. Eyes and all. Doyle Brunson doesn’t wear shades. Phil Ivey doesn’t wear shades.
If anyone wants to start a petition to ban them in any form of poker whether it’s tournaments, cash games, or televised events I’d do whatever I could to help. If you wanna wear shades when you play online, go for it! If you wanna play on The PokerStars.Net The Big Game then you’ll just have to man up and take those silly things off! There are other key reasons why sunglasses should absolutely be banned at a poker table, but I won’t get into that.
Let’s just say that guys like Russ Hamilton would appose such a ban. I heard Durr say it on High Stakes Poker last week and he is absolutely right. You should always be uncomfortable playing high stakes poker against someone wearing sunglasses. I’m not making this up, it’s just a fact. Banning sunglasses helps to protect the integrity of the game against cheating. For that reason alone, they should be completely outlawed from poker. No other sport or organization would allow competitors a device that makes it easier for them to get away with cheating.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Bryan – I read with interest Daniel Negreanu’s comments about the use of sunglasses. My problem with his comments are with his blending the use of sunglasses with that of cheating. His comments that players should “man up” and not wear sunglasses while playing poker, appears to say more about his being uncomfortable with opponents wearing sunglasses than with players possibly cheating. If anyone is playing a poker game and is uncomfortable because they feel someone is cheating with sunglasses, my advice is to (a) Call the poker room supervisor to check the suspicious sunglasses or (b) Leave the game.
I, like you, have sometimes worn sunglasses. If my opponents wish to wear sunglasses that is their choice. I have observed poker players wearing sunglasses and being in “their own little world” and as a result, miss obvious verbal tells from opponents and generally not having a good feel for their opponents.
Thanks for the sharing the article – I enjoy discussing all aspects of poker.
Randy Moder
May 10th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
In my comment – I typed in “verbal tells” but meant “visual tells”. Sorry for the typo.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Only a liberal would be worried about what someone else is wearing. Wonder how wild bill would feel about someone showing up looking like a race car driver? Maybe danny should go play checkers where bluffing isnt part of the game. I wear sunglasses for all sorts of reasons. One so I can observe people without them feeling uncomfortable, to so I can observe people without myself feeling uncomfortable, three to keep people from staring at me when Im in a hand with them and fourth, so that if I want to rest my eyes for a minute I can close them without making people think like Im sleeping. We all know this game can be long and tiring. And lastly, if there is a competitive edge that it gives me, I want to use it. They dont intimidate everyone but they do some and that gives me an edge over some of my opponets. So there. Wear them if you like to, Dont if you dont!
May 10th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Eye tells are fantastic. They can be very reliable. Sunglasses do hide some of the better ones, but as for banning them, I think it would drive some of the fishiest of fish away from the game.
They are a crutch for some who don’t realize that they give off for more information then just their eyes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone’s eyebrows spike up on the flop “hidden” behind their sunglasses.
But as they are a crutch for those wearing them, asking them to be removed means we’ve given up looking deeper and finding the other sources of information. People hiding eye tells are often relaxed in other areas, like their hands and mouths. Let them cover their eyes. They’ll forget about curling their lips and their hands fumbling their chips.
May 17th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Some people may wear sunglasses because of the lighting or to block the amount of smoke when they walk through the casino floor. The only time I wear sunglasses is on the way to the game but I always take them off before I sit down at the table.