What Poker Players Listen While Playing?

What comes to mind when you think of a professional poker player? Perhaps someone is hunched down at their computer or poker table, wearing a sweatshirt, sunglasses, and headphones – but what is playing on those headphones? We take a look at the music that some of the most well-known poker players listen to.

It’s a common scene: a poker player at the felt table, possibly wearing a sweatshirt or other poker website branded apparel, sunglasses on, and a headphone plugged in their ear. While the number of players listening to music during broadcast poker events such as the WSOP tends to be split, many players like some form of sound during play.

Even if you’re not a poker pro, chances are you listen to music or entertainment while playing (especially now that mobile poker is exploding).

But what do the pros listen to when playing poker? We look at what poker players listen to while they play, not at lists that countdown gambling-themed tunes.

Let’s take a look at some of the music that poker players listen to while playing.

Daniel Negreanu’s Nature Sounds

Daniel Negreanu’s song of choice isn’t so much a song as it is a collection of ambient sounds that the Canadian player enjoys listening to. Like the music, you may hear when getting a massage or falling asleep at night. Water running, whale noises, a summer forest (yep, an entire forest has a sound), and sounds from a mountain location, to name a few, are among the neutral and natural sounds available.

This style of non-lyrical music could surely assist a player’s anxieties and relax while shutting out outside sounds while playing poker games—but be careful not to fall asleep.

This Music ‘Starts Phil Hellmuth Up’

Phil Hellmuth prefers to listen to rock music from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s while playing poker, and he likes to tap his foot to the beat.

Hellmuth’s playlist is likely to include songs by Led Zeppelin, such as Livin’ on a Prayer, Don’t Stop Believin’, and Losing My Religion, to mention a few singles from those decades.

Wonder if that foot-tapping is intimidating?

Mike Sexton

In the year 2020, the poker world (and the rest of the globe) lost a poker great, but thankfully, the renowned poker player and pundit left us with a significant legacy to remember him by.

We promised that no poker-themed songs would be included on this list, but Mike Sexton preferred them. Sexton favored music that was inspired by poker legends or had something to do with the game. What’s his favorite? Unsurprisingly, one of his favorite songs is Kenny Rogers’ ‘The Gambler,’ but the legend also enjoyed singing ‘Do you dare make a bet with Amarillo Slim?’ during Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker in the 1980s.

Maria Ho Prefers Pop Royalty Who Can Dance

Maria Ho was formerly a contestant on American Idol, in case you didn’t know. Ho is a superb musician and proficient singer in addition to being a knowledgeable poker player. She auditioned for the popular reality show’s ‘Hollywood Week’ round, and while she claims she auditioned to support her sister, she hails from a musical family and adores singing.

At the poker table, Maria Ho doesn’t necessarily listen to the King of Pop or Queen Bey (maybe we just wanted to bring up her Idol run, okay?) In an interview with PokerNews, Ho claimed that the artists she’d most like to dance back-up for are Michael Jackson and Beyonce.

While the jury is still out on whether or not music is beneficial at the poker table, most studies suggest that music, particularly music with lyrics, reduces focus and adds distractions.

However, because outside talk can be more distracting in the long run, we don’t expect headphones or music to disappear from WSOP tables very soon. Headphones are here to stay at the poker table and also Keluaran SGP site if you like it.

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