Poker Polo Shirts

What a poker polo is actually for

Almost nobody needs one. Most card rooms stopped caring what you wear years ago, and the online game has never cared at all. So a poker polo is not a requirement — it is a decision about how you would like to turn up.

Start with the part that does not help us sell anything: in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the big Los Angeles card rooms, nobody is going to stop you. American rooms gave up on dress codes years ago, and the published tournament rules say almost nothing about clothing. If you are looking for a rule that forces you into a collar, there is not one.

What there is, is the rest of the building. A poker room on the Strip sits a hundred feet from a steakhouse, a bar and a lobby, and you walk through all three on a dinner break. Atlantic City is the same arrangement in a smaller box. That is where a collar earns itself — not at the door you came in through, but at the one you pass on the way out for an hour.

Then there is the session itself. Nine hours in, a collar is the difference between looking like you have been sitting there since noon and looking like you chose to be there. Nobody enforces that. You just know which one you are.

Abroad it is stricter and simpler. A few European rooms — the Casino de Monte-Carlo in the evening among them — refuse t-shirts and sweatshirts outright, and the collar is the one criterion the door staff actually check.

What to look for

• Pique, not jersey. Pique is the textured waffle knit. It holds air, so it breathes under a table lamp, and it holds its shape when a jersey polo would go limp at the collar.
• Weight above 200 g/m². Below that the fabric goes translucent under casino lighting, which is brighter than people expect. Ours is 210.
• A ribbed collar, not a hemmed one. Ribbing is knitted separately and denser than the body. It is the single part of a polo that decides whether the shirt still looks right in year two.
• A tone-on-tone placket. Contrast buttons and contrast trim are what make a polo read as corporate golf day. Matching them makes the shirt disappear into an outfit instead of leading it.
• Side slits. Without them the hem rides up every time you lean forward to count a stack.

What to avoid

The same test as the rest of the site: would you wear it if you did not play? A polo covered in card suits fails it immediately. So does anything with a sponsor logo you were never paid to carry. The mark on ours sits where a mark belongs and is small enough that nobody can read it from the other side of the table, which is the point.

Fit and sizing

Classic fit, cut straight rather than tapered, sized S to 5XL. If you are between sizes and intend to wear it untucked, take the smaller one — the straight hem and side slits mean it does not need extra room to hang correctly. Measurements for every size are on the product page.

Questions we actually get

Do I actually need a collar in Vegas?
No. Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Los Angeles rooms will not stop you in a t-shirt, and we would rather say that than invent a rule. Where a collar earns itself is the steakhouse on a dinner break, the room that has one abroad, and hour nine at the table. Room by room, it is all set out in what casinos actually enforce.

Which size should I take?
Classic fit, cut straight rather than tapered, S to 5XL. Between two sizes and planning to wear it untucked, take the smaller one: the straight hem and side slits mean it does not need extra room to hang correctly. Flat measurements for every size are on the size guide.

Is it really 100% cotton?
In every colour but one. Grey Melange is 85% cotton and 15% viscose, and we would rather say so here than let you find out from the label.

Printed or embroidered?
Printed. The mark sits small on the left chest, in a single colour, on a pique knit that takes ink well because it is heavy. Our caps are the embroidered ones — a printed cap goes flat within a month, which is not true of a polo.

How long until it arrives?
Two to five business days to make it, then three to seven to deliver — five to twelve days in practice. Nothing is made before you order it, which is the whole reason for the wait.