Jeff Haney analyzes the shady subject of whether or not sunglasses should be allowed in major poker tournaments

Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

Caesars Palace will give two players a chance to win a $20,000 seat in the field of 64 in the National Heads-Up Poker Championship March 1-4. A traditional-format poker tournament will be at 3 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Caesars tournament room to determine the winners. The entry fee is $230 with multiple $200 rebuys.

Last year's National Heads-Up Poker Championship finale, a riveting match between top pros Ted Forrest and Chris Ferguson at Caesars Palace, carried a compelling subplot as well.

Dark sunglasses at the poker table: Yes or no? Useful tool or pointless prop?

Some pros swear by shades, insisting they help hide "tells" - actions that reveal information about their hand - while allowing them to covertly observe their opponents.

For Ferguson, dark glasses have long been as much a part of his poker persona as his ability to slice fruits and vegetables by throwing playing cards at them from across the room.

Forrest, meanwhile, went on the record with his belief that sunglasses should be prohibited in high-level poker tournaments. They can detract from the purity of the competition, he said.

"This tournament is all about pressure," Forrest said in advance of this year's National Heads-Up Championship, scheduled for March 1-4 at Caesars. "There are a lot of great players involved, but in the end, it's all about who can focus on their cards and opponent, not on the big chance of going home empty-handed."

Yet during last year's final match, Forrest resorted to wearing a pair of his own sunglasses for stretches of the final round in an effort to throw Ferguson off his game. Whether it was the shades ploy or his signature aggressive and tricky style of play, Forrest won two of three matches against Ferguson to collect the $500,000 top prize.

Even given the high stakes of a final table, however, you probably won't see poker pro Daniel Negreanu don shades anytime soon.

When we asked him why he has shunned sunglasses throughout his splendid poker career, Negreanu had a ready answer.

"Because I'm a real man," Negreanu said. "I think being able to look the other guy in the eye, to try to get a feel for what he's doing, should be part of the game."

The popularity of sunglasses, Negreanu joked, could lead poker down a slippery slope. Why not just outfit poker players in sterilized, full-body spacesuits and old-fashioned diver's masks (complete with Internet poker site logos, of course)?

Oddly enough, Negreanu said he often finds players with sunglasses fairly easy to read anyway, thanks to the way they handle their chips or other mannerisms.

At the other end of the spectrum, closer to Ferguson, poker pro Phil Laak has incorporated sunglasses into his popular image. Whereas Ferguson sits impassively behind his shades and cowboy hat, Laak projects a more manic guise, often incorporating a hooded sweatshirt into his poker getup.

"I think hoods and sunglasses should not be allowed in poker," Laak said in a mock-authoritarian tone. "And when you write that, make sure you put that Phil then laughed uproariously. ...

"No, you're talking to a guy who likes to wear shades in the supermarket late at night, not just at the poker table. I find they can help as far as being relaxing, in helping maintain your concentration for longer periods of time and in softening outside distractions."

For Laak, shades aren't so much about spotting or hiding tells, but about maintaining a healthy frame of mind.

"I'd say for me it's 10 percent a Linus blanket, and 90 percent to conserve energy and to keep focused," Laak said. "When you're playing a tournament that goes all day, by the 10th or 12th hour it can make a big difference.

"I wouldn't have a problem if they ever said no sunglasses, no hats or whatever, but as long as it's allowed, I'll take advantage of it."

Joe Hachem, one of four men to have won the World Series of Poker main event and a World Poker Tour championship, said he favors sunglasses at the table for practical reasons.

"In the major televised tournaments, the TV lights can be bright, and sunglasses help cut down on the glare," Hachem said. "Also, when I play in Las Vegas sometimes I've just been traveling from (his home in) Australia, I'm staying in a hotel room and not resting as well as I should. I find sunglasses help with the stress that comes from traveling. That's why you see me wearing them at the table."

There's a good reason, of course, that the young "hotshot" poker player wearing wraparound shades while toiling away at a low-limit table has become a frequently mocked caricature in modern-day Las Vegas. Poker skills are still paramount.

Case in point: With or without sunglasses, Ted Forrest is tough to read, Ferguson said.

"He is a very unorthodox player with a style all his own," Ferguson said. "He also has an uncanny ability to put his opponent on a hand, and it's uncanny how often he is correct."