Would you pick the mask or the bubble in live poker?

Live poker and social distancing is going to be hard, especially when these are our options.

Could you imagine showing this picture to your 2019 poker self? It's remarkable how quick we all have accepted the new normal in many aspects of life, but we have to admit that poker and social distancing are not an easy mix. 

This is an image from the Rounders Card Club in San Antonio, Texas. In it we see that if you want to play you either have to wear a mask or be (mostly) enclosed inside a bubble. 

If you don't like wearing masks then the 'freedom' of being inside the bubble might make sense, but the advantage of wearing a mask is that it is harder to give off tells. Also if you are playing a tournament then the bubble stage of the event is just going to be plain confusing. 

How long these measures remain in place, and whether other card rooms will replicate what is happening here, is anyone's guess. The one thing that is clear is that if you want to play live poker this year you are probably going to have to go to a lot of effort when, for most of us, online poker is just a few mouse clicks away. 

Have you played live poker since the lockdown? Let us know in the comments what measures the card room has taken to ensure good social distancing.