5 Poker Etiquette Musts
Poker etiquette is something many veteran players feel is more important than winning or losing at any particular poker game. Poor sportsmanship, not knowing the rules and inconsiderate behavior will not make you any friends at the table, and it’s just plain disrespectful to the game in general. Now, there are some forms of bad table manners, such as talking aggressively to opponents, that some players believe is a part of the strategy of the game, and it is true that there are a few that have turned a nasty mouth into considerable profit. However, there are some hard fast rules of etiquette that pretty much every poker player in the world will expect you to adhere to.
1. Don’t act out of turn
Eventually you will do this, everyone does, but to do it regularly is inconsiderate. Acting out of turn is when you fold/call/check/raise before the action gets around to you. If the player before you hasn’t decided what to do yet, acting out of turn might influence their decision. For example, he might be hesitant to raise because he doesn’t know if you’ll call, re-raise or fold. But if you fold before he even has a chance to make a move, you’ve now made the decision easier for him, which is unfair to the rest of the table. Waiting your turn to act is simple, so show a little patience.
2. Do not talk about a hand you’re not in
Much like acting out of turn, you should do nothing to influence a hand outside of making your own plays. If you’ve already folded your cards and now it is heads up between two other players and you start talking about how you think the guy on the button has a flush or that he’s bluffing, you are disrupting the flow of the game and being disrespectful. What they have or don’t have is none of your business, your money is not in the middle and the decision to call or fold is not yours to make.
3. Don’t splash the pot
This one isn’t as severe as some of the others on the list, it’s more annoying than anything else. Splashing the pot is when you sloppily throw your chips into a pot. The reasons this is bad is because you might get your chips mixed up with chips already in the middle, which will confuse the dealer and the other players. Secondly, the dealer will have to gather your chips and re-stack them anyways to make sure you bet/called the correct amount, which will slow down the game.
4. Don’t Slowroll
Inexperienced players do this all the time without knowing, but veterans have no excuse. Slowrolling is the act of waiting too long to flip over your hand during a showdown when you think you have the best hand. If you think you have your opponent dominated, proper etiquette dictates that you should flip your hand over immediately so that the other player doesn’t have to sit in suspense wondering if he won or not.
5. Pay attention to the game
If the dealer and/or players have to keep reminding you when it is your turn to act, or if you have to keep asking how much it is to call because you’re not paying attention, these are very rude tendencies. You can watch the football game and still know when it is your turn to act. Remember, you’re there to play poker. If you want to focus on the something else, go do that instead.
