Dress Code for a Poker Night

We all have a picture in our mind about a typical poker night with players in suits and black sunglasses. But actually you can wear less formal dresses in a casino, like a polo shirt and a pair of jeans. Though flip flops or shorts are really not recommended unless you play in a beach bar. Let’s read the most common dress code for a poker night.

Playing poker is great fun either you just play with your friends on a Friday night or you actually play poker in a casino. While for professional poker players taking part in different competitions are their daily jobs. There are different rules for the different scenarios, so it’s good to know the basics before joining the table. Of course, usually you can wear whatever you want in a friendly poker game, but there can be strict rules about your dress in a luxury casino. You can read about them in our article below so you can always have the appropriate outlook. 

Dress code for a poker night if you play in a casino

Visiting a casino already requires some preparation as most of them won’t allow you to enter in shabby clothes. In a luxury casino for men a white/black tie with a black tailcoat and white shirt is the most suitable while women should wear some long evening dress. Ties and tuxedos are usually not required by the casinos, but they are the best choice.  Another important part of your look is your wristwatch, which is also worn by most professional players. 

The dress code for a poker night in a less fancy place is more relaxed. As men can wear smart casual dresses, like a polo shirt and a pair of jeans while cocktail dresses are perfect for women. You can also enter most casinos (even high-end ones) in these clothes during the day, as they only require more formal dresses in the evenings. 

Dresses to avoid in a casino

As we mentioned, during the day you can wear quite casual clothes when you’re visiting a casino, but there are some items which are not welcomed even then. Like going in a flip flop, in a sport shoe or in a ripped jeans. Shorts can be worn in hot weather but only until sunset. T-shirts are fine unless they have some writing on them, shirts are much better choice though. Ladies can wear skirts, or jeans with nice tops. And High heels and some jewelry can be great accessory.  As a piece of general advice, it’s always good to check the dress code of the casino you’re going beforehand in order to avoid any problems. But don’t forget that you can always choose to stay at home and play on one of the online casino sites in the US instead. 

Special dress codes in poker tournaments

In a poker tournament, players might need to adapt to some special rules. But the biggest events like WSOP and WPT are quite relaxed about dressing.  Only certain company logos are banned as we wrote here. Players can literally wear anything from sunglasses to hoodies and scarves. What’s more, some of them even wear a headphone in order to concentrate. These extras can give them some advantage as their rivals can’t read their face as much. No wonder that several players would prefer the ban of headphones and sunglasses on major tournaments. 

For now, you can still wear them but be prepared that the casino manager will take an extra watch at you. Our main advice for any beginner player is to choose a dress that is comfortable as you’ll be sitting for long hours at a table. So if you don’t feel well in a suit, just have a shirt. And you can also swap fancy shoes to your snickers. But too casual dressing is also avoidable unless you’re a really famous poker player. 

Poker night with a theme

A great way to spice up your regular poker night with your friends is to add a theme to it. Like Game of Thrones, Superheroes or a more classy James Bond-theme. In this case, all of your guests need to dress accordingly and just have some fun. Famous players have also worn some special costumes in recent years, especially around Halloween. They dressed like Julius Caesar, Scooby-Doo or Snow White. But at home you don’t need to go such extremes, just host some more simple party. Or if you can’t get together, you can also join an online poker sites in the US like Everygame Poker and meet with your friends there. And in this case, you don’t need to worry about your clothes just wear whatever you want.

Click here to visit Everygame Poker’s Online Poker Tables