The stench around poker tables

[surfinillini]

a few weeks ago I went to the Hustler casino in LA to play 2/5nL

I was sitting in between two arab guys whose breath both smelled like they just ate [censored]. I had to lean back in my chair and breat through my mouth. Unfortuneately the game was so [censored] goood I couldn't get up.

[Big Bend]

Local card room I play at has a guy who had HORRIBLE breath.. I mean, just overpowering smell of bad garlic, terrible stench. Apparently he was suffering from cancer and it did something to make his breath smell so bad. He wore a surgical mask but it didn't help. Eventually the owner of the card room told him he couldn't play there anymore because people were complaining too much. I heard he cried when he was told that. Sucks to be him.

BB

[MicroBob]

At WSOP 2005 single-table satellite there was a woman wearing some sort of medical sanitary face-mask type thing.

At the time I was thinking it might have been for germ/bacteria reasons. Or maybe she was wanting to cover-up some facial tells.
But it could have just been due to the abundance of smelly people I guess.


I played a different single-table sat where the dealer and a couple players all breathed a sigh of relief after a particularly stinky player got eliminated.
He was in the 1 seat and I couldn't smell him from the 6 or 7 seat. But the dealer and the players in the 2 and 3 seats commented quite a bit about him after he left.

I did notice that he had some stamp on his hand indicating he might have been to a club the night before perhaps.


I've never experienced the excrutiatingly bad odor that you guys speak of. Just general stinky-breath, light gas-pass or greasy-food smells that aren't exactly pleasant, but thankfully not too horrible.

But even the mildly stinky is probably a significant reason why I don't play live-poker any more than I currently do (I play live maybe once/mth).

[malo]

Many (many) years ago, I worked as a reporter. There were some cops who swore by Old Spice to help mask the odor of, um, deceased individuals who had been dead awhile. That is a stench that makes BO smell like a rose garden. (Trust me.) They didn't wear Old Spice, used it just for that purpose.

Excessive cologne/perfume/aftershave can be offensive at the tables also. My suggestion would be--dab a bit just under your nose and back of hands.

If the BO smell is overpowering, put elbows on table, fold hands, and get nose close enough the cologne can help mask the smell. Players often sit with elbows on table, hand/s under chin, so it wouldn't look that unusual.

[GoAheadRiverMe]

But the bad thing about maskin gthe oder is, you're still breathing it. Table change please. NOW!

[JJNJustin]

I have noticed that many Asians (especially older ones and Chinese especially) have horrible breath.

One time I let some gas pass at the table that was so utterly disgusting everyone started putting their noses in their shirts and cringing. I didnt think it would be that bad, but it was really horrible. Since then I try not to pass any gas at the table, the incident was really embarassing.

-J

[Tablerat]

[ QUOTE ]
One time I let some gas pass at the table that was so utterly disgusting everyone started putting their noses in their shirts and cringing. I didnt think it would be that bad, but it was really horrible. Since then I try not to pass any gas at the table, the incident was really embarassing.


[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, but did you win the hand? If all else fails, time to break out the secret weapon!

[malo]

[ QUOTE ]
But the bad thing about maskin gthe oder is, you're still breathing it. Table change please. NOW!

[/ QUOTE ]

This is true. Using a cologne/aftershave this way can absolutely ruin it for you. And sometimes a table is too good to leave. (if you can handle it.)

Perhaps set aside a "poker" cologne? Something with a smell you like, not too pricy that you wear only when you play. Save the good stuff you really like for hot dates and activities away from the tables. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[juanez]

[ QUOTE ]
Complain to the floor. If they won't fix it go some palce else.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah. that's it. It really sucks to be the guy that has to tell someone "Look, it's hard for me to tell you this ok? But players have been complaining about your odor. I'm sorry, But I have to ask you to leave." If you can't do that, don't floor. It happens.

I had to do this a few weeks ago when a REALLY old man had pissed himself. When we asked him to leave and he stood up he was wet from the waist to the knees. He was a really nice guy, but he stunk badly and said that he didn't even realize that he pissed himself. I felt pretty bad for him, but he just had to go.......

[budman]

I was at Foxwoods once and this very nice foreign person smelled so bad that it burned the inside of my nose. Everyone at the table was fighting for seat change buttons to get away from him.

I called the floor over and arranged to pay for him to get a day pass into the spa and shower up.

The floorperson put him on the dinner reseating list and he came back an hour later and everyone was happy.

He still smelled bad, but not nearly as bad as before.