The Poker Player’s Manifesto: Part XXVI - Table Image

I used to put a lot of mental effort into putting together my outfit for a session of poker. I would wear my brightest Hawaiian shirt, attract a lot of attention to myself, and assume that people would be calling me lighter. Other days, I would show up wearing a Stetson, never say a word, and bluff every opportunity I could get. I went through a phase of wearing suits to final tables and another of going barefoot at final tables. Some things matter and other things don’t, but opponents do make inferences about our games based on how they perceive us visually.

Before we focus too much on our wardrobe, let’s understand how people perceive us demographically. Men are perceived to be more aggressive than women. Young people are also assumed to be more aggressive than older people. Asians are perceived to gamble more, while White dudes are typically tighter. Obviously these are stereotypes and politically incorrect, but poker is a politically incorrect game. It doesn’t matter how people perceive you, but it does matter that you are aware of how people perceive you.

For many years, people perceived me as very aggressive and consequently folded less to me. No problem, I adjusted by widening my value range and narrowing my bluffing range. Always be conscious of how opponents generally perceive you, and understand that this is a dynamic world as well. One table might think you’re insane and fold less to you, another table might think you always have it and never call. Adjust to your opponents always.

How we dress ourselves certainly comes into play at the poker table. First, be clean. A quick shower in the morning takes very little time, helps wake you up, and will go a long way toward making you feel more comfortable for the rest of the day. Don’t play poker if you stink. It’s rude. Second, wear something comfortable. You’re going to be sitting in a chair playing poker for a long time, you’d better be comfortable. I like to go outside and get fresh air as often as possible. That means I’m usually wearing shorts in the summer and jeans in the winter. I think it’s important to always look good, considering that you are in public and in a social setting. I think it is more acceptable to be more casual for poker tournaments than cash games, considering that tournaments are often long and grueling endeavors and your opponents are all there for the tournament as well. I believe we should dress sharper for cash games, however, because they are more of a social event and people are coming and going.

Don’t ever go out of your own style comfort zone. There’s no reason to start wearing suits because you’re playing poker if you never wear suits. If you’re Tony Dunst and like fashion and suits, then go on with your bad self and rock that sharpness. Everybody likes people looking good, but if you’re not comfortable in your clothes then your poker game will be affected as well. What I do recommend is that you tailor your clothing choices to suit the environment you will be playing poker in. For tournaments at the World Series of Poker, shorts and a t-shirt is just fine because it is 110 degrees outside and you will probably be walking through that. On the other hand, some of you never go outside during the tournament, so then you probably want to dress for the 60-degree air temperature they maintain in the Amazon Room. On that note, bring something with long sleeves to the poker room. The air conditioning frequently gets chilly in many poker rooms, and I’ve bought enough hoodies at gift shops in casinos to learn to always have a hoodie around.

In 2011, I took a trip to Europe for a couple of poker tournaments. Understanding that it was cultural to dress up for casino outings, I brought along all of my fancy clothes. Granted, I am most comfortable in flannel and fleece living out of a tent next to a river, but I did go to college in Los Angeles and do enjoy getting all gussied up from time to time. I am comfortable in suits and the weather was fitting for them, so I wore suits while playing poker in Europe often. It felt good and was a lot of fun. Another time I went to play poker at a home game on a farm in North Carolina. They wouldn’t have let me into the game if I was wearing a suit. Instead these multi-millionaires were wearing overalls and broke the game at 3 a.m. so they could go dig their own worms before fishing at sunrise. Poker is a game of people and poker is a social gathering, dress the part for who you are playing with and where you are playing.

Sunglasses are pointless. I am pretty good at perceiving tells, and I am never disappointed when somebody is wearing sunglasses. In fact, they are often easier to read, feeling secure behind their sun shields, and the natural tells I generally look for become easier to spot. They make it harder for you to see, and they are bad for the social environment of the game. If you really want to wear clothing that will help conceal tells, wear a scarf. If you can’t wear a scarf, then wear a hoodie and pull it up over your neck, or in the worst case simply pop your collar. The carotid artery is a great source of tells and completely uncontrollable, so we should seek to conceal it.

If people know you, then there is no sense in trying to wear a disguise because you’re just going to look dumb. If people don’t know who you are, then there is some merit to employing subterfuge in clothing choices. Perhaps you want to dress like a fish? Then wear a World Series of Poker t-shirt and a Choctaw Casino and Resort ball cap. Maybe you want to appear aggressive and flamboyant and then knit a sweater? Hard to make a pair, but you’ll probably get paid off a little bit more than you would otherwise. Maybe you want to dress conservatively and stay quiet and pull off some sweet bluffs. Bluffing is fun. I’ve always wanted to channel my soul into the body of a 76 year old, 100-pound lady. I would bluff everybody.

Lastly, headphones are sometimes acceptable. You should always seek to encourage talk at the table. A happy and social table makes a good poker game. People focus more on talking and less on how they’re going to beat you at poker. Having open ears lets you hear what others are talking about, and people give away information with their words all the time. Use headphones when needed, but engage in talk if possible and make sure you don’t miss information they give away. ♠

Bryan Devonshire has been a professional poker player for nearly a decade and has more than $2 million in tournament earnings. Follow him on Twitter @devopoker.