Dressed To Impress

Poker rooms have been known to be filled with the likes of toothpick chewing, jean wearing, beer swigging scoundrels but, far from that image, poker is actually a game for the thinkers and an intelligent pastime, taking place in the world’s finest casinos and exotic locations. To that end, it’s no surprise that, in reality, poker players are actually, for the most part, very well dressed.

Here’s five of the best of ’em.

Liv Boeree (pictured, top of story)

Stylish English grinder Liv Boeree, real name Olivia, began her poker career eleven years ago after appearing on TV show Ultimatepoker.com Showdown. Nicknamed The Iron Maiden, following coaching by legends Phil Hellmuth and Dave Ulliott , she has become one of the most successful female poker players of all time, with almost $3,000,000 in live tournament earnings. She is the number one ranked female on the Global Poker Index and six on the female all-time live poker winnings list. She has also hosted TV shows both sides of the Atlantic as well as finding work as a model and all this after achieving a first class degree in Astrophysics from the University of Manchester. This summer’s potentially revolutionary Global Poker League gives the stylish young Liv the opportunity to manage the London Royals franchise as her career takes another twist at the tables. One of the most well known UK poker pros, she is one of many that inspire amateurs to try the game. With the laws being so simple about gambling in the UK, the online poker scene is booming and many offer great promotional offers and deals for new players.

Tony Dunst

High stakes pro and World Poker Tour’s “Raw Deal” host, Tony Dunst began playing poker at college before graduating to online poker where he made a success of himself after spending time in China, before he took to life as a pro. Despite hailing from the USA, Dunst moved to Australia for a year in his twenties and it was in Melbourne where he experienced his biggest cash win of his career so far when, in January 24 2016, he pocketed a cool AUD$1 million for a second place spot in that year’s Aussie millions. Dapper Dunst, has a signature look based on smooth style and sophisticated designer suits – his Twitter handle is Bond18 – and prides himself on being friendly and down to earth. Although he would not endorse a dress code for poker players, Tony does think they players “owe” it to the audience to look sharp for a televised final. Either way, he is dressed for success and it’s working.

Ebony Kenney

Here is a lady that has it all, Ebony Kenney. Glamourous mother of two, model, singer, wannabe actress and successful poker player, Ebony has been playing poker for over a decade but only began gaining attention, on and off the felt, five years ago. Kenney does not have “a look” as such, save for the cropped coloured hair, but, as a model, she has worn very much to very little, while at the table she gives out a sassy rock bitch vibe, which is definitely working for her. In fact, it was only after getting the hair cut down that she began to receive modelling offers from agencies, an industry she was familiar with having worked as a makeup artist when she was a teenager. Poker remains her first love though and she claims she will remain loyal to it whatever offers from whatever business comes next. It goes without saying but she is right to stick with poker as her total live career earnings come it at almost $200,000, nice.

Phil Ivey

Despite having an alarming drop in form (and money) last year, it’s hard to argue against Phil Ivey being one of Poker’s greatest ever players. With over $23m banked so far, Phil started out by playing in local casinos with a fake ID, owing to him being underage at the time, before perfecting his game and building an astonishing career and bankroll. Ivey is often referred to as the “Tiger Woods of Poker”, and is actually keen on a round of eighteen holes himself and even entered the inaugural World Series of Golf, finishing third. As for his style, when not sponsored from head to toe, he generally opts for a tee/shirt/hoodie/hat combo or all of the above as long as they are top quality threads, he always looks cool rather than sharp.

Samantha Abernathy

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, 25 year old Abernathy certainly took the unconventional route to professional poker. After starting out working as a graphic designer & photographer in Chicago, she took a designing job and, at the launch event, met with Steve Aoki who invited her to tour with him as a photographer. Always down for an adventure, she accepted and found herself playing tour bus poker and decided to split her career between freelancing and playing and, while in Florida at the same time as the Seminole Hard Rock event, googled WPT, before finding herself in Prague. From there, she has carved out an ever improving cash score which currently sits at almost $540,000, most of which she collected at this year’s Aussie Millions. At the tables, she always looks her best and, if her career continues at this pace, big things on and off the felt are expected of Abernathy.