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At the 2006 WSOP Main Event one thing was certain: There was no dress code! All forms of fashion were on display, including costumes that could have passed muster at a masquerade ball or Halloween party. One particularly memorable player sat down to play with a bright red Tickle Me Elmo mask encasing his entire head.
If he was wearing this outfit to conceal his facial tells it probably did the trick, although any advantage was most likely offset by heat exhaustion. Although the Elmo gambit did not vault this particular competitor to the final table, it does raise an interesting question: Should a player use props, like a mask, to help conceal not reveal tells while playing poker?
Consider, for example, players who wear sunglasses at the poker table. Sunglasses can be a very effective way of concealing information and changing how you are perceived. The reason US Secret Service agents wear them is really for three reasons: (1) People can’t see where the agents are looking; (2) Sunglasses make the wearer seem more unfriendly and, therefore, discourage friendly chatter; (3) Sunglasses are intimidating, making the wearer seem more in control and in authority. Chris Moneymaker, although not a government agent, uses them very effectively in this way.
This question about whether players should wear sunglasses comes up frequently from both amateurs and pros. At my last Read‘em and Reap Seminar in Vegas (see www.navarropoker.com) I told the students that my personal philosophy regarding sunglasses is that if you wear them, do so for the right reasons:
(1) To disguise where you are looking: If an opponent can’t see where you’re looking, there’s less of a chance your opponent will hide tells from you. You can gather information without your opponent being aware of what you’re doing.
2) To appear more dominating and less accessible:If you seem more “unfriendly” or “unapproachable,” it will reduce the probability that other players will engage you in conversation, an outcome that is desirable for an individual who is susceptible to revealing tells while talking.
(3) To shield “eye tells” if you have them:If you have a tendency to “give away” a lot of information with your eyes, sunglasses can block a lot of visual tells, such as change in pupil size (more easily spotted in people with green and blue eyes), squinting when seeing certain types of cards, eye-orbit variation, and eyebrow arching. The advantage of blocking these tells should not be underestimated. At one of the Camp Hellmuth poker seminars, Phil related an incident in which he spotted an opponent raising his eyebrows when he saw his cards – a high confidence tell. Phil wisely folded his hand and saved a lot of money because his opponent held the nuts.
If you are a player who decides to wear sunglasses for strategic advantage at the table, you should recognize there are two downside risks associated with the tactic:
(1)Some players become over-confident when they put on their shades, thinking they have eliminated their tells when, in fact, they forget that their hands as well as other parts of their bodies reveal far more information than their eyes. So, don’t let sunglasses be a reason for letting your guard down and forgetting to monitor the other parts of your body for tell-tale signs that might be helping other players read your intentions and card strength. Case in point: A few days ago I conducted a private “tells” session with an individual in his home. After the training, this gentleman went to a nearby casino and played at a table with two opponents, both of whom wore sunglasses and one who also wore a hooded shirt. They played for just over three hours at thousands of dollars a hand. In the end, it did not matter that these individuals had attempted to cloak themselves. The student, on his own, was able to decipher his opponents’ tells with just a few hours of instruction. My sentiment was once more affirmed: People pay too much attention to hiding their eyes and shrouding their face when their hands and their bodies reveal so much more. Better to disguise ourselves “physically” as we have suggested in earlier columns: Develop the perching, robotic approach, while thinking and acting at the table. This is the best way to conceal, not reveal.
(2)Individuals who choose to play with sunglasses tend to see fewer of their opponents’ tells because the room is darkened, and also the frames can block vision. In fact, one of my seminar participants wanted to know if he could play against me using sunglasses. I said go ahead, so we sat down across from each other and played a few hands. It didn’t take long before he stated he would never use them again. He simply had a difficult time reading some of my tells and, at the same time, it did not help him hide his own exploitable tells. Most people’s tells are not in the eyes; they are elsewhere.
How about wearing a hat to reduce table tells? Obviously, this depends on the person. There are some people who give away so much in their faces that they can be read several tables away. Again, at my last seminar, I suggested to one of the lady players that she should get herself a visor or a hat because I was reading her facial tells from across the room! Every time she got a bad hand, she would furrow her brow (furrowed brows or forehead is a sign of stress or distress), followed by the rolling of her eyes, which is a “dismissive / negative (low confidence) tell.” And sure enough, each time she exhibited the behaviors, she mucked her cards. She might as well have raised her hand and said, “I’m going to fold in a minute!” If you’re like that lady, then get a visor or hat and keep your head low; you’re too easy to read. By the way, men have this problem, too, especially men with expressive faces whose eyebrow furrows reveal exactly how they feel in real-time.
All of these clothing accessories do bring up an interesting question, of course. Where do we draw the line? Should we all play like Phil “the Unabomber” Laak with his hooded sweatshirt covering most of his face? (He still has tells - just watch his hands and his posture.) What about a mask that would cover the entire area of the head like our cartoon-friendly Elmo entrant at the WSOP? Or a burka for men? Wouldn’t that be a hoot at a tournament?
The issue is of legitimate concern. One of my students perceptively asked, “Does playing with tell-blocking accessories give some players an unfair advantage?”
Yes.
Will anything be done about it? I don’t know. Perhaps at some future date, all major tournaments will be played with a uniform set of rules regulating what a person can and cannot wear at the tables. This would be the fairest way to deal with the issue; it would put everyone on the same footing. Until that time comes – if it ever does – I suggest that each of you judge for yourself if accessories like sunglasses and hats can help you conceal and not reveal. If your assessment is affirmative, then I say, put ’em on. Any legal edge at the table is worth exploiting, particularly in tournament poker, where revealing or concealing one tell can make a difference worth millions of dollars.
Joe Navarro served as a Special Agent with the FBI for 25 years. You can read his book Phil Hellmuth Presents Read‘em and Reap (HarperCollins) available at all major online and brick and mortar booksellers. Joe welcomes readers’ questions at his navarropoker.com website. Dr. Marvin Karlins holds a PhD in Psychology from Princeton University and is currently Professor of Management at the University of South Florida’s School of Business Administration. An avid poker player, Professor Karlins enjoys answering inquiries at mkarlins@aol.com.
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