Poker Tips: Etiquette - What to Do and What Not to Do
The most important piece of poker etiquette you can know is to not act like a jerk when playing. Sarcasm aside, it does make a good point.
While it sounds like common sense in practice, having good etiquette also helps to improve one’s poker game. In short, good poker etiquette ensures a smooth running game where civility is just as much a rule as any card play.
Everybody wants to enjoy a laid back, friendly, and fun game; whether it is a tournament or just the Saturday night game with your buddies. And no one is going to enjoy playing with someone who disrupts a game, especially when there’s money on the line.
Here are some guidelines to help with an easier play session:
- Keep a cool head. Give people dignity and respect when playing. Be as much a professional winner as a professional player. No cheering or saying “baby needs some new shoes!!” as you bet. In fact, don’t comment on your cards at all. And no huge cheering when you win.
- Stay with games you know. The poker table is not a place to learn the rules of the game you are playing. If you want to play seven card stud, learn how it is played before you go to the poker room.
- While it looks cool in the movies, “splashing the pot” (throwing in chips) is a no-no. Just quietly push your chips in.
- Don’t harass the dealers. Friendly banter is alright, but if you lose a pot, it’s not the dealer’s fault. Joke, but don’t insult or make it personal.
- Don’t give lessons at the table. No one likes a know it all. If a player doesn’t know what’s being talked about, that could be used to your advantage. Don’t teach people new ways to take your money.
- Don’t eat greasy / messy foods at the table. A neat sandwich is fine, but when people start pulling out the nachos and barbequed chicken, it’s just too much. Who wants that all over their cards or the table? It’s messy, and not fun to watch.
- On the same plate (pardon the pun), keep your liquor intake reasonable. It’s fine to have a few drinks while playing, but becoming drunk will lead to two things: you will likely lose more hands than if you were sober, and you may be viewed less than favorably by your table-mates.
- Be a good loser. It’s no fun to lose, no matter the situation. But you knew from the start that there was a chance you might walk away empty handed – so if that happens, live with it, smile, and come back another day. Again, people want to keep it a pleasant environment. Throwing a tantrum isn’t going to keep that atmosphere.
- Don’t dawdle. It’s ok to think about things for a moment or two, but don’t make people wait five minutes while you decide to bet or not.
- Remember, it’s just a game. Even though there is a fair bit of one-upmanship and psychological warfare going on, and there’s real money on the table, it’s still simply a game. It’s NEVER personal, so don’t make it such. Besides, making enemies with Knuckles Mahoney and Tony “The Widowmaker” Ironstaff is a bad idea (actually, you may just want to avoid that table in the first place!)
