by Johnny Hughes » Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:08 pm
For poker, you need loose, comfortable clothes. You need to wear the layered look because casinos are COLD. I always were long sleeved shirts and take a jacket or sweater, even in Las Vegas in the summer. Management keeps casinos cold on purpose so that the suckers won't get sleepy.
I like long sleeve Roundtree and Yorke black or dark blue shirts with button pockets. When you come through the airport, you can put lots of hundred dollar bills in your buttoned shirt pockets without calling attention to it. I like pleated black or dark blue slacks with deep pockets. These do not call attention to the big wad of money inside your rubber bands. Always carry money in your front pocket. You see a man pull money from a billfold, you know he is not that great a no-limit player. Also, the pleated pants are good if you need to hide a tiny pistol or derringer. Remember, it is very rude to carry barking iron inside another man's joint.
When I first turned out, gamblers were the best dressed people in society.
Sadly, it isn't that way now.
You should never wear but one patterned item at a time. If your tie is pattererned, weat a solid shirt and suit or sport coat. Never wear a patterned shirt with a patterned tie. Makes you look like a square John. Solid dark colors are best to help hide a poker paunch.
Select a hat that fits your true personality and attitude toward life and gambling. Never trust a man in a thin-brimmed hat. You need a hat on while playing poker. You can tilt your head down and count another man's chips or your own without telegraphing your tell or greed. It's unlucky to leave your hat on the bed.
Never wear leather pants, a diamond pinkie ring, or chest hair chains unless you are under twenty-two years old.
Remember that most of the poker pros set a terrible example when it comes to dressing to look and feel your best. When you play poker, you want to feel the very best about yourself that you can feel. That's the major reason to dress nicely. Every year when I would head to Las Vegas for the World Series, I would buy a couple of new shirts, socks, maybe a sweater.
When I'd tip over a really sweet score, I'd always buy me some item of new clothes. When I was young and would go broke, the fancy gambler's threads would help me to get a loan or a stakehorse.
And did I mention the women? They expect a gambling man to wear fancy clothes and look their best. If someone says, "I like your hat."
Always say, "It's for sale." and mean it. That's goes for my watch and shoes. Never trust a man in two-tone shoes. These are many of the ideas I forgot in my latest novel, TEXAS POKER WISDOM.
Johnny Hughes
