There is been some arguments and questions about the use of personal MP3 players at the poker table while playing. Some people claims that the use of Ipods and other gadgets tend to distract you from playing your cards properly and also slows down the game. Well I'm here to say that is all hog wash. There is no way listen to music while your playing hurts your game any. Now some might say well if your listen to music you might miss your turn or not know what the action is on the table, as in bet size or if it’s your turn.

To this I say you can listen to music and still concentrate on the game at hand. I do believe chips are colored for a reason, correct?? You can easily see if someone raises you by the amount of chips they put into a pot. I’ve never seen someone wearing an Ipod or CD player zone out and start singing or playing an air guitar solo at the poker tables when he/she is playing a hand. If you’re in a hand I would have to say you’re pretty much focused on that hand, because you’re probably trying to win it. A benefit to listening to music at the table is that you don’t have to worry about all the useless banter at the table when you’re not in a hand. Some people like to make friends at the poker table and strike up conversations with players.

Well I'm there to win and to win I can’t be your friend cause I want all your poker chips in front of me. Plus they would come in real handy if you ever sat at a table with Mike" The Mouth" Matusow, or someone like him, who likes to get under players skin with useless degrading banter. The music would drown out the words coming out of their mouth. I also believe it helps you to listen to music so you’re not distracted by outside events that might happen around your table. The last reason I'll give to say its fine to listen to music at the table is you can always stop, check your status at the table and take off the device you are using to play when you get a nice hand if you really need to concentrate. So it's easy to say I’m a fan or listening to music at the poker table and feel strongly it definitely has its place in poker!