A study on dim lights, and identity concealing clothing, reveal some interesting real-life patterns that translate well into poker.  This has far more applications for live poker strategy than online poker strategy because it involves being able to see your opponent.  Poker is a game of theft, of deceit, misdirection, anticipation, patience, and guile there is little moral ambiguity in the game.  Angle shooting and cheating are no-nos but anything short of that represents the very point of the game itself.  Life, and those governed by moral rectitude, has a different set of rules.  Deceit and misdirection are two things that represent angle shooting in real life. 

In poker you are not supposed to talk truthfully about your hand while in life you are supposed to talk truthfully regardless.  Recently, a study was done that showed people in dim lighting and dark places are far more willing to commit moral transgressions than people in well lit places.  In a study that placed college students in well lit and darkly lit rooms with an envelope, $10, and a test they graded themselves to win some of the $10, the students were more likely to cheat in the darkly lit room than in the well lit room.

Scientists believe the darkness liberates the person to be bad, one because it’s less likely they’ll be seen and two the feeling they have from not being seen.  It encourages feelings of anonymity, like a member of a mob feels less like an individual and more an anonymous member of a group, which in turn encourages behavior that would never be done alone.  They came to this anonymity conclusion by testing the generosity of students wearing sunglasses.

In the second study, students wearing sunglasses were less likely to share as big a  portions of real money with a random stranger if they were protected by sunglasses than if they had clear glasses.  Here being able to hide behind the shades encourage misbehavior.  Carnival revelers and mask party invitees can attest to how costumes up the ante so to speak and lower the morality of events.  Apparently, sunglasses are masks enough.

How does this fit into poker?  All players conceal the strength of their hands but it stands to reason players in sunglasses will bluff more often and lie more casually than other players.  Immediately, you can widen their ranges when making a decision knowing they feel safer misdirecting their opponents behind the comfort of their sunglasses than a player without them.

As with all rules in pokers, the overriding rule is there are no rules, but generally with less information at your disposal you can be on the look out more for players that are slightly concealed.  In the past, research has shown people wearing hoods are more likely to commit crimes and engage in other bad behaviors, so this extends to the poker table too.

Wearing a hoodie and concealing a player’s face, means they are to be trusted even less than if they are just wearing sunglasses.  The unabomber look is encouraging the player behind the hood to act a little more aggressively in thievery on the poker table too.  These players need to be called more often.

Think back to when you’ve sat down at a table and worn sunglasses or a hoodie, did you feel more confident bluffing or c-betting?  Some pros sneer at this garb as hiding and that is a successful viewpoint that encourages those pros to look up the other guy in semi-disguise.  The better players will play back at the guy under wraps more because they think they are weak, and while that might not be the correct rationale, playing back is successful because those players are betting with less more often than others.