In the seventh WSOPE broadcast Robert Williamson III gives his guide on sunglasses at the table.

‘The eyes are the window to a poker players soul. They can give your hand up if not careful. Thats why I wear my sunglasses, day, and night.'

Sunglasses have become a trademark of the poker player for many years. Walk into any large tournament and you will see nearly half of the players with some sort of dark eyewear. Some of the most famous players to regularly wear sunglasses at the table are Johnny Chan, Erik Seidel and of course, Phil Hellmuth. Yet many people have different opinions as to why sunglasses are useful to the poker player.

But first, what are the definite reasons why you would wear them at the table. Phil Gordon suggests there are two main reasons. Firstly to hide their eyes and protect themselves from giving away tells, although he states he has never seen a reliable tell linked to the eyes. Secondly to hide what someone is observing, which he admits can be a slight advantage, but overall he does not recommend the use of them.

Daniel Negreanu is regarded as one of the best readers in the game who you never see wearing glasses at the table unless for fashion purposes. He feels that most players who wear sunglasses have more tells than other players and that they give away tells in other places. ‘Their throats, body language, they feel when they wear sunglasses they are hiding behind this big wall, when in fact there are more to tells than just your eyes.'

Howard Lederer feels that the practical use of sunglasses can hinder your play at the table, suggesting that you might not pick up some information because you cant see as well with them on! ‘Sunglasses might keep some information from getting out, but they stop more from coming in. I am confident that the information I take in with my eyes far exceeds what I give away.' Howard also suggests that the game can become more interesting without wearing sunglasses.

Probably the most interesting advice comes from avid sunglasses wearer Johnny Chan, where he actually advices against them as they can affect your winrate. If a casual player with money to burn sees one game full of serious players wearing sunglasses and hats and one game full of people enjoying themselves, he is most likely going to that table. Poker can be seen as a business and players are your market, so It would be a bad market strategy to seem serious and drive your customers away.

Yet with all this advice against wearing glasses at the table, its hard to ignore the success of players such as Hellmuth wearing them. Phil has been so successful wearing them that he has even had his own limited edition pair sold and has his own signature line in the works. Another famous pair of sunglasses were those worn by Greg Raymer when he won the 2004 Main Event. The hologram lizard shades looked extremely confusing at the table and Raymer says he started wearing them as they made his opponents very uncomfortable and reluctant to play against him.