Following the Examples Set By Some of Poker’s Best-Dressed Stars Ready for a Night of Cards
The professional poker scene and its many major meets dotted around the year often have at least seven figures on the table for the best of the bunch to win. Players who stick around for a few years often accumulate hundreds of thousands in tournament wins to buoy their bank balances and keep them on the circuit.
Knowing that the World Series of Poker has a prize pool of over $90 million – the winner getting $10 million – and even the World Poker Tour manages to put up a $40 million guaranteed prize pool, why is it that we perceive poker players as, generally, being rather poorly dressed?
Poker fashion isn’t exactly a point of focus for the major events, even though they’re televised, streamed, and beamed across social media to hefty audiences. Yet, you’d think these skillful card players reeling in big paydays would flex their wealth with some nice, luxury pieces of attire.
Here, we’re delving into this apparent lack of fashion sense as well as some stars of the game who offer some much more inspirational outfits to try out if you head to a game of poker.
The Way of Poker Play
One of the most influential elements on the modern poker scene is online poker. The internet is not just where anyone can learn to play the most popular card games like Texas hold’em, but they can also train their skills, take on people from around the world, and win real money all from the comfort of home with a single screen to hand.
Once you’ve learned the motions, ins and outs, and hand rankings of Texas hold’em, you’re ready for live events. However, in getting to this point, most poker players have discovered the benefit of comfortable attire in long, intense sessions. Furthermore, there’s the fear of exposing tells to human players in a physical poker game.
This has led us to hoodies and sunglasses becoming hot picks for poker players and the stereotypical attire worn by the card players. With your hood up and sunglasses on, not only will you keep warm and comfy, but you’ll also hide your face and any tells that you may not know you have. Plus, some see the aesthetic as intimidating.
The More Fashionable Poker Stars
Somewhat deceptively, many poker stars who’ve pocketed hundreds of thousands or even millions in winnings do opt for designer attire: even Ralph Lauren, Hugo, and Boss make hoodies these days. Still, one player who used to stand out as much more outwardly fashionable at the tables is Liv Boeree.
Winner of a World Series of Poker bracelet, the European Poker Tour, and the owner of a physics with astrophysics degree never failed to up the ante on the fashion front. She liked her long-sleeve shirts, vest tops, and occasionally accented her look with a baggy button-up shirt. The “Iron Maiden” even became the face of a major brand in her time.
Beyond Boeree and her excess of $4 million made at the tables, we can look to Marcel Luske, Tony Dunst, Anthony Zinno, and, on occasion, Daniel Negreanu. Following in the worthy footsteps of James Bond, all of them have been seen sporting superb suits for the major events – ones worthy of the millions of dollars that are up for grabs!
If you’re heading out for a big poker night or even a classy poker tournament, take your fashion inspiration from any of these star players who prove that you can claim all the chips and look top-notch doing so.