the problems with the iPod...

ditpoker

i dealt the first day of the main event at the irish open and the following hand took place.

blinds 100-200
early to mid position guy with big f&^k-off head phones on him throws out 800 chips and proceeds to stare at the middle of the table... he is in seat 4.
seat 5, directly opposite the dealer (me) folds...
seat 6 wearing the standard issue iPod , who hasnt done much for a while, looks down at her cards and puts her card protector on her cards, pauses her ipod, takes an earphone out of her ear and raises it to 2200.
action gets folded back around to guy in seat 4 who is still staring straight ahead and eventually realises he has been raised and pushes for about 5500.
seat 6 insta-calls with AA, seat 4 had TT and gets knocked out.

now i'm hardly the best player or best reader of situations ever,but in this hand it was obvious to the world and his dog that seat 6 had something, the ipod and her actions with it gave off so much information. Equally, seat 4 must have had a good song on or something becuase he was oblivious to all these tells being thrown at him.

so... my question... to ipod, or not to ipod?!?!

(for those play with UnLuckyLloyd he is a terrible one for the "pause ipod, think, remove earphone, push, win pot" trick, but me thinks sometimes he's doing this with air!)

jacQues

I feel that iPods and all other musical gear should be disallowed.

jacQues

El Stuntman

jacQues wrote:

I feel that iPods and all other musical gear should be disallowed.

jacQues

fully agree

only music allowed should be self-generated....

5starpool

Very occasionally I listen to music at the table. This happens when I have an annoying idiot at my table that I can't stand listening to, or when I am playing with drunk idiots, or when I need to relax and calm down as I did in the IO on Friday at one point and stuck in one earphone. Usually I only listen to one earphone unless I really do not want to hear someone, as I like to know what is going on around me. Most of the time though I don't listent to any music at the table.

shoutman

I would really like there to be a tournement where players are not allowed to use any object or device that would make it harder for players to get a read off them, ie no wrap around glasses, no hoodies pulled down over your faces, no masks of anykind and if an ipod was neccessary it should be in one ear only.

When I played a side event at the IO last year there was a guy at my table who had big earphones in, wrap around sun glasses and a baseball cap on, this guy was basically playing internet poker live.... was ridiculous!

Hyzepher

I suppose if you think of it for a minute you can pigeon hole people who like to listen to music while playing. Firstly ask why they take the time to bring a MP3 etc to the table and listen to it. Remember they do this while playing a game that they have a financial interest in.

For me players who use MP3s etc do so becasue they are tight. They listen to music to help with the boredom of folding hands after hands. If they play or raise then they have found a hand that is worth interrupting there music.

Players who like action and get involved alot dont have the time for mp3s.

**this of course is a gross generalisation but I think it's a good start when trying to get a read on a player.

ditpoker

Hyzepher wrote:

I suppose if you think of it for a minute you can pigeon hole people who like to listen to music while playing. Firstly ask why they take the time to bring a MP3 etc to the table and listen to it. Remember they do this while playing a game that they have a financial interest in.

For me players who use MP3s etc do so becasue they are tight. They listen to music to help with the boredom of folding hands after hands. If they play or raise then they have found a hand that is worth interrupting there music.

Players who like action and get involved alot dont have the time for mp3s.

**this of course is a gross generalisation but I think it's a good start when trying to get a read on a player.

you're back all of 5 minutes and already talking sense!!

LuckyLloyd

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Hyzepher

Like anything else, reading players is a very personal thing and I dont presume that all players fall into this category but most do - imo

I think you'll get a very quick read off them after 2 or 3 circuits - much quicker than if they didn't have the mp3

ditpoker

UnLuckyLloyd wrote:

A very dangerous assumption. I think of five players off hand (Dublin players) that fall outside such pigeon holing.

i know whenever ive worn an ipod to games i do end up playing tighter... waiting for hands...

phantom_lord

me and the scandie kid beside me both had ipods, and probably opened more pots between us than the rest of the table put together.

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

Ace2007

IMO ppl should not be allowed to have ipods.. etc, as this is not fair on other people, everyone should be on a level playing field- one should not depend on music to make then play tighter- for example if any of these ppl made the main televise table of the IO- they wouldn't of been allowed to wear them - so what would you have done then ?

Is is fair that if one is on the main feature table - that ur not allowed to wear earphones, yet if i'm at table 97 i am - no...

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

phantom_lord

Ace2007 wrote:

IMO ppl should not be allowed to have ipods.. etc, as this is not fair on other people, everyone should be on a level playing field-

get your own mp3 player?

Mellor

I have no problem with people using any sort of music accessory at the table.
MP3, Mini-disc, Retro tape playing Walkman.
Sometimes I listen to music on my phone. It has its uses.
A BAD player listening to music at the table will be easier to get reads off. But he was a bad players to begin with. It serves no advantage, and alot of pros like to see players with big F**k off headphones as they believe they pay less attention to the game around them. Some do, I agree. But these players would probably not pay much attention to the table any way.


Jeff, from the original post, the guy was staring at the table centre while action moved around he table. The player in seat 6, made it pretty obvious she had a big hand through her actions before she bet, earhones, switch off, suddenlying paying attention.
If the guy was without earphones, and still staring at the centre, he would probably of missed this anyway. He was a ****-up because he didnt watch the action.

mdwexford

i listen to an ipod in the early levels of tournaments when the blinds are small, i find it helps me concentrate that little bit more. it has no bearing at all on playing tight or loose. when it gets down to the business end i turn it off just in case i miss anything important

StraddleFor6

mdwexford wrote:

i listen to an ipod in the early levels of tournaments when the blinds are small, i find it helps me concentrate that little bit more. it has no bearing at all on playing tight or loose. when it gets down to the business end i turn it off just in case i miss anything important

So, was that your first time not listening to it on saturday? Lol.

Great game btw. What an action-packed final table. Really enjoyed it.

mdwexford

StraddleFor6 wrote:

So, was that your first time not listening to it on saturday? Lol.

Great game btw. What an action-packed final table. Really enjoyed it.

i had to listen to all those tellbags instead....:D

yeah wp Eoghan, i still cant believe one of us didnt take it down, i thought we were gonna be heads up from about 8 handed or so but that english guy ruined it. was a good game though enjoyed it as well

jbravado

I have flirted briefly with listening to music during prolonged periods at the table.I soon found that it was not for me.I have to agree that I found myslf playing tighter while I did though.
Imo table talk/chatter/banter is an important part of the game and can in some cases help you get a decent impression of what kind of player you are dealing with.

aodea

when at a table with Ditpoker ipods are essential as he has to be one of the most annoying guys i have ever met. I think ipods are fine also find it helps with tilt and when someone like the chief tells you were u went wrong in a hand i enjoy having the option not to listen.

cardshark202

Anything which can distract your attention from the table is a bad idea imo. The amount of stuff people give away just from talking is quite amazing. I know people can be annoying but its worth sticking it through.

Goodluck2me

aodea wrote:

Ditpoker ..... he has to be one of the most annoying guys i have ever met. .

phew....

NickyOD

I wear an iPod but keep the music on low, so I can still hear most people at the table and I still observe everything. If someone obnoxious is at the table I can turn it up. It's mainly used to give me an excuse for not responding to morons who keep asking me "Do you want me to call?" and "Do you have a pair?"

Hectorjelly

I dont think people should be allowed to wear ipods because it slows the game down considerably.

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

El Stuntman

UnLuckyLloyd wrote:

I have seen you use them on occasion.

his own music perhaps? HJ, pls confirm!
that's allowable at a pinch...

personally it doesn't bother me, the only time it does is when some gimp is polluting my airspace with his awful music that his cheap earphones/hollow head can't contain

Hectorjelly

Well I think they should be banned, not made a hanging offence

Hectorjelly

lol, I dont think Ive listened to my own music whilst playing. I wouldnt put it past me though.

I dont feel that strongly about it, but I do think they slow the game down to the extent that we would be better off without them.

Jools Poker

El Stuntman wrote:

personally it doesn't bother me, the only time it does is when some gimp is polluting my airspace with his awful music that his cheap earphones/hollow head can't contain

personally I'm not really bothered if someone's using an iPod at the table unless I can hear just noise coming from it- if someone's music tastes or lack of can be heard by the persons sitting next or around that player then I think they should be obliged to turn it down if their earphones don't contain the sound...otherwise I'm quite happy to see someone tune in and if often means they in fact tune out of the table

Bandana boy

I too dislike when they slow a game up but I have one with me every time I play
If there is a bit of banter and a few jokes i leave it off otherwise i have it on low with 1 earphone in

Mellor

I never have it so loud so that i can't hear normal speech at the table.