I'm all for poker players being comfortable at the poker table. I'd prefer people to be a little more presentable, especially when we have a live stream or a televised final table, but that's been tried many times by me and my poker hero, Mike Sexton, unsuccessfully.
Where I think we need to draw the line is to request people keep their shoes on.
Bad hygiene is an issue at times — we all know that. A staff member recently told me the one thing that's worse than anything is seeing people with dirty, nasty, crusty, and exposed feet while playing. It’s not a good thing at the tables; a casino or tournament area is not your living room.
With summer coming up, I know sandals, flip-flops (I hope they don’t) and, god forbid, Crocs are going to be coming out more and more. But I challenge you — if you come in with your shoes on, keep them on.
Poker public service announcement
I’m going to make a public service announcement for everyone’s benefit: If you saw underneath the poker table at the end of a long festival or a tournament, you'd think twice about taking your shoes off anyway. It’s nasty under there.
I’m also going to warn players once again that stepping on a chip rack with or without your shoes on could be very painful and dangerous. I’m just saying!
I believe poker tournaments should be like most restaurants that post:
- No shirts.
- No shoes.
- No service.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. And I ask all the fans and players to directly submit interesting situations and videos to me on my X account. Your question could be the next Savage Rules!
Matt Savage is the WPT Executive Tour Director, founder of the Tournament Directors Association, and a respected member of the poker community. Matt is a five-time GPI award winner and a nine-time Poker Hall of Fame nominee.
You can follow Matt on X. For more info, visit PokerTDA.com and WPT.com.
