Are iPods killing the art of Live Poker Play?

Whether it is the growth of the super live poker tournaments or the influence of the isolated nature of online poker there has been a massive rise in poker players using iPods to drown out distraction whilst playing in live poker tournaments over the last 5 years.

Whenever you watch one of the big tourneys on television it is inevitable that a certain percentage of the folks at the poker table will have earbuds hanging from their heads.

Listening to music while playing live poker eliminates a lot of poker table distractions and can help players focus on their cards. It also discourages other players from trying to engage you in conversation during a poker hand
However listening to music while playing live poker can make some poker players less self aware, turning an otherwise fundamentally sound competitor into a fountain of tells.

In general it is online poker players who are used to playing with music or televisions on in the background whilst they play that prefer to listen to iPods, email or update twitter whilst they play. Many online poker players comment that they find live poker tournaments hard to concentrate on as they are used to playing multi tables rather than sit waiting for the next hand to come round.

It’s these differences that require poker players to develop some live poker skills. Maintaining focus on their game as well as their facial expressions and poker tells requires mental stamina. Concentrating on the music will make somebody less conscious of their facial expressions, and their outward reactions to what is going on in the hand. This is less of an issue in online poker. Physical tells don’t really count at an internet poker room.