Dress for Success

  The unusual fashion sense that seems to be inherent to the sport of poker is a well traveled subject and often a source of fun for those who can attractively accessorize any outfit with their eyes closed. There is a method to the madness though. In the particular case of professional poker bad fashion is often functional.  A lot of players are keenly aware of their tells. They are even more aware of the ones they can't really get full control of, so the best way to deal with eyes that subconsciously get big when you have the nuts, or a throbbing temple vein that occurs when you are on a bluff is to cover them with dark glasses and a big hat. Your opponents may very well know where to look for your tells by concluding that you are hiding lying eyes behind your terminator glasses, but that knowledge does them no good unless they snatch them off your face in the middle of a hand.  Hiding your tells with clothing is such an effective method of defeating those who want to put you on a hand, that a lot of professionals think that such wardrobe items should be banned from the poker table. The argument is that it is no different than a baseball player who uses steroids to get an extra few feet out of a hit.  It does sound a bit absurd that this helps people's poker game, but it does work. Just ask the Unabomber.