The Importance Of Good Poker Etiquette

It may sound obvious to some that playing any game with other people requires some basic sense of decency and poise. Well-designed software will usually bear the brunt of your aggression and impatience with saintly resignation and if your purpose for playing poker is to get rid of pent up emotion or to redirect frustration you had better stick to customized bot opponents. But it is surprising the amount of people who behave like bullies and hillbillies, sometimes in the belief that it is a manner of bluffing.

Behavior, obviously tells a lot about a player, and I think one may fairly depend that reserved, politely brisk behavior is characteristic of a focused, purposeful player who is there to stay for some decent, quality or at least honest games. The reverse is also true: the more purposeful and efficient learner a player is, the more they are likely to intuit basic etiquette.

Professionals are characterized both by mastery of the medium and impeccable manners. Good manners create a pleasant atmosphere which makes it easier to focus on winning. Experience and plain common sense dictate that you do not insult rookies, since they are a profitable source.

There is definitely as great a need for etiquette on line as in live games. First and foremost, minimize chatting. Remember that every time you type a message, you reveal information, as well as receiving it. Information gleaned that way may easily mislead, and frequent messages, to you or between others, may distract. It is sensible, depending on your sensibilities, to even close the chat for the duration of the game or at any specific stage.

It is definitely a bad idea to discuss your or your friend’s level of mastery. What is less obvious is that by chatting voluminously you may easily inadvertently reveal your level of expertise.

Always be polite but save the salacious stuff for the water cooler. You will be doing the table a favor. An online poker game is not a chat room and treating it as such wastes time and opportunity. Negative language will not achieve any goal. It will only pollute the atmosphere and you want to keep the atmosphere pure and neutral.

Attempting to anger your opponents into better play is a tactic that just doesn’t work and may backfire by showing the table your actual level of ability. Believe it or not, blatant rudeness is officially taboo in most online poker rooms.

Typing in UPPER CASE means you are speaking in upper key, i.e. shouting or expressing abnormally intense emotion. This has no place at the poker table. You do not want to betray any unbalanced emotion, such as frustration, greed, or anger. Play with grace under pressure. Even if you don’t like Hemingway, it will still lend your play at least a patina of cool intelligence and impressive nonchalance.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives True Rakeback and Absolute Poker Rakeback.

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