Music at the Tables
Written by Glenn on November 11th, 2005
The new craze in poker is listening to music at the tables. Two years ago the WSOP allowed players to listen to music during the tournament and one of “The Nuts” segments showed clips of all the players using headphones and cd players. Some professionals like the new freedom, giving them something do with all the downtime of not playing hands, and as a calming effect listening to opera music or classical, or maybe listening to hard rock to get pumped up. On the other hand though, some players find that it slows down the game as some players with headphones in can’t hear whether someone checked, called, raised, etc, and doesn’t always know when it is their action.
I have used music at the tables during home games, ring games, bigger tournaments, and I’m not sure it improved my game at all. If anything I kept the music off and just had the headphones on so people thought I wasn’t paying attention to them. What people say when they don’t think they can hear you can be very good information. During the early hours of a big MTT however I don’t mind listening to music. When you’re playing very tight aggressive in the opening rounds of a tournament it’s nice to have something to listen to while you wait for big situations. At the same time, I know some people who have listened to iPods while playing in the tournaments we throw every Thursday and they can slow down the game a bit if their music is too loud or they get distracted, which can be a real nusiance.
What to use if you decide to use music at the table? I suggest iPods over CD Players. Little skipping, more selection of music, and sleeker than a bulky CD player on the table or in your lap. I found a deal from freepay.com for a free ipod. You have to sign up for an offer (usually runs $10 and below and have 5 other people sign up below you and then they send you a free iPod 30GB. Ben already did his and it’s being shipped, so if you don’t mind getting free stuff, get an iPod through me!
Good luck at the felt, and a question to the readers: Do you listen to music at the tables, and if yes, what kind of music do you listen to?
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2 Comments to “Music at the Tables”
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redrory
November 12th, 2005 at 11:55 am
Hey Rory here,
For me just playing poker online at home ( Ja_Pokerman) at PokerRoom.com. I need my music so I can imagine that the Big Guys would need music in the hectic tournment setting.
About the Free Ipod, I am 100% agaisnt those free stuff, when Ben receives his then maybe Ill change my mind.
Later
Steve
November 12th, 2005 at 11:29 pm
I was Ben’s final 5th signup, so if it goes through I’ll post and let you know if it worked, I’ve heard it works though. We’ll see.
Steven