Does anyone else hate the "hood up, shades on" look at the poker table?
Whenever I see players at my table dressed in such a way, it is a natural instinct for me to roll my eyes at them, and only partly because the games I play are so low stakes it can be considered insignificant and pointless to hide information that no one at the table (except perhaps me, I take it too seriously), is looking for.
What this look takes away, in essence, is the old fashioned charm of the game. Years ago, in the mid-American West, when playing poker was in some ways a risk to your life, you didn't see any of this hiding away nonsense. If you look at Doyle Brunson - he has played poker undeniably successfully for decades without the need to adjust his appearance to make it look like he has taken a beating.
What too many people forget about poker, in my opinion, is that poker is a SOCIAL game. It's one of the few global pastimes that involves sitting round a table and being able to talk to your opponents while playing the game you love. Yet, in the poker scene today, the players look miserable.
Ask yourself why this is. Is the game less enjoyable today? Perhaps, I get annoyed by the hyper-aggressive players that play any two (but then, I'm a fish, and can't outplay them), but this can't be the case because of how many people still play the game. People are miserable at the table because they withdraw themselves from the other players because of the risk of "giving information away."
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not as loud as Negreanu or The Mouth, but I like to have fun while playing. I play poker to enjoy myself, and if I ever lost the enjoyment I would stop playing because there would be no point. Sure, if you're playing to earn a living, that's great. But what is the key reason you started playing poker more and more? Almost without exception, the answer is the fun of playing.
So, my plea to the poker world is this - ditch the shades. Ditch the hoody. Let's go back to the days where a man could look across the table into his opponent's eyes and talk to him. If you want to conceal information, then learn your tells and use them to your advantage.
The Poker Nobody.
