Cheating at Poker by Wearing Sunglasses? Come on, get real!
Suddenly shades at the poker table are the subject of debate, especially when they pop up on the faces of well-known professional poker players. Some players refuse to sit down at the table without sunglasses on, but can this be considered cheating in a poker game? Of course not! There are only two reasons why top poker players wear sunglasses: one is to hide their "tells," little facial and eyeball idiosyncracies that might tip off their hands; and the other is purely personal, whether it be a way to help players relax, pretend they're somewhere else or making believe they're at the beach and being cool. Those who claim poker players wearing sunglasses are poker cheats are just plain nuts.
Speaking of tells, I heard that when some players at the poker table get good cards or flop a good hand their eyes dilate involuntarily. Heck, if a player at the table can actually spot the dilation of my pupil from across a poker table when I have pocket aces, more power to him, and if he beats me he beats me. It's definitely on the square.
I have also received e-mails complaining that Greg Reymer, the 2004 WSOP Main Event champion, is a poker cheat hiding his grifting abilities behind those sunglasses he always wears. That is rubbish and I have no knowledge of Reymer ever cheating anyone anywhere.
The bottom line here is that if you give off tells at the poker table, then you ought to consider wearing sunglasses too!
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