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Halloween_27sept17.jpg

Make an entrance at your Halloween fancy dress party with five classic poker costumes, all fit for the Main Event final table

Back in the day, poker players gambled on the road and dressed like cowboys. Today’s players rock a more vanilla look – hoodies, t-shirts, jeans, trainers, earphones and sunglasses. That’s not going to win you any prizes at your fancy dress party, though.

If you want to wow your fellow guests and delight the poker nerds we’ve got you covered, with tips on how to dress like five of the most famous poker players on the planet. For extra points you need to stay in character as well, so pick the player you can have the most fun with.

1. Phil Hellmuth

Hellmuth is probably the most recognisable character in poker today and his look hasn’t really changed for the past decade. He’s very different to the awkward-looking 24-year-old who beat Johnny Chan heads-up in the 1989 WSOP Main Event. Back then, he looked almost naked without his trademark cap and sunglasses, and paled next to the fabulously flamboyant Chan.

Phil Hellmuth_27sept17.jpgHellmuth is one of the most iconic characters in poker history, and even has his own clothing line to prove it

The modern-day 14-bracelet-winning Hellmuth has almost completely eschewed colour (so pick him if you want a ‘slimming’ costume), with a black cap (Aria or PH logo), black over-the-ear headphones, sunglasses and a black t-shirt or hoodie. Let your stubble grow for a few days too. To make things even easier Hellmuth sells his own gear, so you’ll definitely look authentic.

At the party, if you hit the beer bucket and don’t like what you see, you can start ranting about how you always take the worst beats. Kick it off with a quizzical, “What’s even going on here?” before dropping trademark f-bombs and asking if the host can even spell beer. This one might be better executed with a partner who can sit on the sidelines and make sympathetic/calming noises.

Fancy dress factor: 5/5

Buy items:

T-shirt: PH Flames White on Black
Cap: Phil Hellmuth 2016 Game Hat

2. Scotty Nguyen

There have been several iterations of Scotty Nguyen and he’s calmed things down in recent years. Peak Scotty though, circa 2006, is perhaps the best fancy dress you can pick if you’ve got the confidence (and the body) to pull it off. It’s also dead simple. All you need for the base is a pair of heeled black boots (pointed), jeans (black or blue) and a white vest. Then it’s all about the accessories.

Scotty Nguyen_27sept17.jpgIt’s all about the bling, baby!

Get yourself some pomade, slick your hair back (be generous with the pomade), and then add three or four gold pendants and one green one (all on gold chains, natch). Add gold bracelets (two or three on each wrist, real or replica WSOP ones if possible) and three gold rings on each hand, preferably studded with generous diamonds. Sunglasses are optional – small and round.

Getting into character is easy, too. Just add the word “baby” onto the end of everything you say and keep calling for “cocktails”, baby.

Fancy dress factor: 5/5

Buy items:

Assorted bling: Mr T Gold Chain, Medallion Dollar Necklace, Chunky Gold Gangster Bracelet Gold Wire Mesh Poker Bracelet
White vest: White Sleeveless Vest Top Costume
Pomade: American Crew Pomade
Sunglasses: 1980s Military Aviator Sunglasses & Dog Tags

3. Johnny Chan

If you own a lot of leopard-skin (baseball cap, t-shirt), or some garish Ed Hardy clobber, you’ve got everything you need to be a modern-day Johnny Chan. But we’d be doing a disservice to the poker world if we recommended anything but the classic 1989 WSOP Main Event look. He might have lost to Phil Hellmuth heads-up, thus robbing the world of a back-to-back-to-back Main Event winner, but he romped home in the fashion stakes.

Johnny Chan_27sept17.jpgJohnny ‘The Orient Express’ looking swish in his heyday

It’s dead easy to source as well – get yourself a classic old-school Fila tracksuit, preferably orange/red, white and black/navy, and an over-sized pair of sunglasses. The bling is fairly minimal, but a silver ring, necklace and bracelet will set the look off. If you’re concerned that the other guests will think you’ve come dressed for an 80s hip-hop party by mistake, take an orange with you and keep it close at all times.

Buy items:
Tracksuit: Courto Track Jacket Navy
Sunglasses: Aviator Sunglasses Top Gun

Fancy dress factor: 3/5

4. Daniel Negreanu

Not everyone wants to channel their inner flamboyance at fancy dress parties. If you prefer the understated look (or you’ve forgotten to order your costume) you should be able to cobble together a Negreanu look from stuff you’ve got at home.

Daniel Negreanu_27sept17.jpgDaniel Negreanu sporting the classic Kid Poker look circa 2005

Combine either a colourful plaid shirt or v-neck t-shirt, with a pair of designer jeans, bright belt and baseball cap. Then just add PokerStars patches on your arms, cap and breast pocket, and finish the look off with a few woven leather bracelets and a bright wristwatch (red).

If you want specifics you could go for the classic 2015 WSOP Main Event look, with an aqua/black/white striped v-neck t-shirt, maroon trousers, blue woven belt and blue loafers. If something bad happens to you at the party, you can just fall backwards and lie on the floor with your hands over your face.

Fancy dress factor: 2/5

Buy items:
Hit the high street for your clobber and take a visit to the PokerStars Rewards Store to get your hands on all manner of branded merchandise

5. Doyle Brunson

Ten years ago, if you asked the average person on the street to describe a poker player they would have given you Doyle Brunson. All you really need to pull off the look is a cream cowboy hat, which you can band with the words ‘Doyle’s Room’ if you want to kick it old-school. Pair that with a yellow shirt, or a suit with a black-and-white striped shirt if you want to evoke smart Brunson. Doyle doesn’t hold truck with sunglasses, earphones or bling, but if you really want to accessorise you can add the 10-2 in your breast pocket (both spades if you want to make the poker nerds at the party really happy).

Doyle Brunson_27sept17.jpgDon’t mess with Texas and don’t mess with a man willing to go all-in with 10-2

Brunson is all understated witticisms and smart observations, and if a game kicks off at the party and you end up stuck you can say, “If my daddy knew I was losing in this game he would turn in his grave.”

Fancy dress factor: 4/5

Buy items:
Stetson: Plain Stetson Cowboy Hat Cream

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