Can players wearing headphones win pro poker tournaments?

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Simon Burley

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Interesting comments from Daniel Negreanu that young players blame variance when they should be worrying about their own lack of concentration:

http://www.pokerjolt.com/news/poker-news/186/Daniel-Negreanu-You-can-t-win-in-headphones-

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/pok...ull&id=1295592846&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

Is there anything in this - or is it just an old-timer having a rant at the younger players?

Anyone know of any decent counter-examples (ie, players who routinely win on the pro circuit wearing headphones)?

I use my iPod when playing live - which is only once-a-month. But I'm thinking twice about it after reading these comments :confused:
 
FLyby

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I have played some lower stacks live tourneys and it has always had me wondering what they were doing. When I play live I like to not only see what is going on but also hear. I have gotten some good tells from what people say not just how they act. I have seen a couple of people sitting there with their head phones on and music loud enough for me to hear it across the table. Me personally, I do not care what they do, I actually like that they can not hear what is going on. I feel that it gives me an edge over them because I get that much more knowledge. YOu will never win just looking at thecards you wil need to out play some people at some point to make it in the money and if you plan to win then you need all the information you can get.
 
Debi

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Of course they can and do.

However I have no clue how lol. There is no way in hell I could play a live tournament while listening to music.
 
bullishwwd

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Interesting comments from Daniel Negreanu that young players blame variance when they should be worrying about their own lack of concentration:

http://www.pokerjolt.com/news/poker-news/186/Daniel-Negreanu-You-can-t-win-in-headphones-

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/pok...ull&id=1295592846&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

Is there anything in this - or is it just an old-timer having a rant at the younger players?

Anyone know of any decent counter-examples (ie, players who routinely win on the pro circuit wearing headphones)?

I use my iPod when playing live - which is only once-a-month. But I'm thinking twice about it after reading these comments :confused:
I have always wondered if they might actually have someone "feeding" them other player"s card information or maybe getting some input assistance from another person.

I don't think it should even be allowed to have ear-plugs, much less having something that is emitting a signal to ones ear.

Wally
 
suit2please

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I have always wondered if they might actually have someone "feeding" them other player"s card information or maybe getting some input assistance from another person.

I don't think it should even be allowed to have ear-plugs, much less having something that is emitting a signal to ones ear.

Wally

In that case then you must also be against any observers being anywhere close to the tables.

I would have no problem with people using mp3 players and headphones at the tables, if they want to be distracted thats their issue. Now there should be a house rule that anyone at a table can check the mp3 player to make sure they aren't cheating. Of course if they are getting information from some other source its the other players at the tables faults for allowing their cards to be seen.
 
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ballsdeep3434

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yeah they can...i love listening to music at the tables i zone out a little where i coast to the top 30...
 
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Interesting comments from Daniel Negreanu that young players blame variance when they should be worrying about their own lack of concentration:

http://www.pokerjolt.com/news/poker-news/186/Daniel-Negreanu-You-can-t-win-in-headphones-

http://www.fullcontactpoker.com/pok...ull&id=1295592846&archive=&start_from=&ucat=&

Is there anything in this - or is it just an old-timer having a rant at the younger players?

Anyone know of any decent counter-examples (ie, players who routinely win on the pro circuit wearing headphones)?

I use my iPod when playing live - which is only once-a-month. But I'm thinking twice about it after reading these comments :confused:
Of course you can win a tournament like this. I've FT'd some of the local casino's live events while listening to MP3's. I think OP is misinterpreting what Negreanu is saying. He isn't saying you can't win if you don't listen, he's saying you can't win if you don't focus and apply yourself. Headphones was just a symptomatic example, as was reading and generally not paying attention. Contrasted to what he says about Ivey who is always trying to pick up any loose info there is.

On a tangent: I think online players who transition to live (especially younger ones) don't give much credit to physical tells. Body language and things like that don't have carry much weight when your entire game is predicated on ranges, tendencies and stats. Not only that, but they're often so used to using HUDs that they aren't good at tracking "stats" live...the very VPIP/PFR/whatever they often use to assist in decision making aren't just there and they have less practice at paying attention to estimate them. So they sacrifice some sources of information and aren't practiced at gathering other information they normally use regularly. ===|> Thus the need to work more on your game and pay attention.
 
Mortis

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Of course they can and do.

However I have no clue how lol. There is no way in hell I could play a live tournament while listening to music.


I bring mine just in case there's that one annoying guy who sits at my table. There's always at least one.
 
Atticus22

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seems like younger players can multi-task better with headphones

live televised poker tourneys are on a delay so nothing can be transmitted to headphone devices

observers shouldnt be close enough to see the cards anyway
 
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I have never seen anyone wearing headphones win a major tournament. I'm not sure if it is necessarily because they are banned at the final table, but I would not be surprised. I think Negreanu brings up a lot of interesting points, and the fact that these players are more likely than not distracted by what they are listening to is a valid point. If someone could research this topic more in-depth, I think the results would be pretty interesting.
 
cardriverx

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some people wearing headphones are more focused in as there's no background noise that they do not control. It's all different according to the person. Again, Negreanu is not saying that players that wear headphones aren't focused, he's just saying that it can be a sign of a player that isn't focused.

I've seen Ivey wearing headphones before at MTT, too.
 
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I bring mine just in case there's that one annoying guy who sits at my table. There's always at least one.

This for me as well. Only there's always more than one.
 
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some people wearing headphones are more focused in as there's no background noise that they do not control. It's all different according to the person. Again, Negreanu is not saying that players that wear headphones aren't focused, he's just saying that it can be a sign of a player that isn't focused.

I've seen Ivey wearing headphones before at MTT, too.

I agree with this as well. One reason I love online is that I control the environment. Something that is harder to do live but headphones can help with.
 
vanquish

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I agree with this as well. One reason I love online is that I control the environment. Something that is harder to do live but headphones can help with.

for sure


maybe someday they'll let you stream its always sunny in philadelphia while playing live so i could actually play without being bored to death
 
RichKo

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I heard an Interview with Johnathan Little where he said he listens to Classical Music and music that is made to help your concentration ... whatever that is.
 
Extreme Fishing

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Jason Mercier always has headphones on and he wins big tournies.
 
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thejuanupsman

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for sure


maybe someday they'll let you stream its always sunny in philadelphia while playing live so i could actually play without being bored to death

I never used to get bored live but online has ruined me for it. So slow.
 
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i do listen to my ipod when playing live but only when not invloved in hands i still keep my ear buds in my ears but i will pause or turn off my music when playing i theres also some circumstances where i dont even turn it on but still have my ear buds in letting people think i cant hear whats going on
 
FatCatBamboo

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I heard an Interview with Johnathan Little where he said he listens to Classical Music and music that is made to help your concentration ... whatever that is.

If I'm playing online, I may turn some mozart or erik satie at a very low decible level to control the background noise. Whether it helps me or not is another story but I do think it helps you concentrate.

I agree with some of the posters above and would think headphones during live play inevitably hurts you because your brain is not operating at all cylinders and you have this added distraction away from the tells and body language of the field.
 
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RamdeeBen

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Never played a live tournament before but I don't think I could listen to music during the actual game. Like people have said, what people are saying and doing will help you get a better read. It may work for some people but hey I dunno.

I always listen to music when online though, for some reason I get bored a lot quicker with no music playing. Keeps you more focused!
 
Leo 50

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I play in a once a month live game (usually 2-3 full tables) and I never wear headphones or sunglasses.
I always want to be paying attention to what's going on around me.

As Daniel said in his blog, guys live Ivey are always watching.

Even playing on-line, I may have some music playing in the background but I am NOT checking emails, surfing the web or watching TV, I am playing poker!

Just my 2¢
:cool:
 
shant 323 babayan

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it depends on the player, alotta of players like using headphones
 
blackmax

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Can players wearing headphones win pro poker tournaments?
I dunno but it would seem to me that players doing this put themselves at a disadvantage.
 
Tom1559

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They can and do win games with headphones although it is not something I would use or encourage. In fact I would go as far as banning them from live games. I played a live game a few weeks ago and the guy wearing them kept having to take them off to hear what bet amounts etc. He had them off more than he had them on so what was the point.
 
MediaBLITZ

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"I looked over at Phil Ivey and his eyes were darting back and forth, watching every move, and gathering as much information as possible on his opponents.
"What was this punk doing? On day two of the main event he had his headphones blaring, barely lifted his head, and was reading a book!
"If I staked someone and saw them disrespect my money like that I'd cut them off immediately."

The times I have worn headphones the "music" selection included poker instructionals such as - "Final Table Play" by Daniel Negreanu.
Twice now I just happened to be at a section in the tutorial that totally reflected what was happening at the table and took it down. I have also had the phones in the ear, at least it looked like it (nothing coming through), and pretended to not be paying attention to provoke opponents.

But online - I think my biggest leak is not paying attention. Surfing, reading poker blogs, watching TV, reading books, posting here or there - even if it's all poker immersion the best I can do is ABC. These "punks" Negreanu addresses pretty much 100% came from online and these habits are developed and practiced there. Lately seems I do much better live because there are less distractions and I can focus on the table.

 
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