Poker live game

Poker players take their games very seriously.  Why shouldn’t they?  After all, most players play poker for money.  Everyone is serious when money is concerned.  That’s why proper live game poker etiquette is so important to follow.  So, let’s look at a few common etiquette points.

Pot Splashing:
Pot splashing is, basically, betting by throwing chips into the middle of the table.  It can cause all sorts of problems.  First of all, it is messy and hard to collect.  Also, though, it makes the pot amount hard to keep track of.  So, players acting after you will be unsure of how much the current pot is worth, if you splash the pot.

Slowrolling:
If you are involved in a hand that makes it to the final showdown, you shouldn’t slowroll.  Slowrolling is waiting at the end of a showdown before displaying the winning hand.  It can unnecessarily raise your opponents hopes.  Worse than that, though, it can slow down the game for everyone.  So, if it goes to a showdown, lay your cards down quickly and show them.

String Betting:
If you’re going to make a bet, in poker, you need to do so once.  String betting is when you place chips into the pot and then move your hand back, grab more chips and put them in the pot, too.  The trouble with string betting is that the person playing after you might think the first part of your bet was your entire bet and assume it is their turn.  That can create all sorts of confusion for everyone.

Talking:
There’s nothing wrong with chatting at the poker table.  However, there are two big rules to follow.  First, don’t insult the other players or say offensive things.  All that will do is cause everyone to get angry and want you gone.  So, you will become a target player.  Also, in many settings, you can get warnings or kicked out of a game for being offensive at the tables.

The second rule of talking at the table is not to discuss a hand while it’s still going on.  Whether you yourself are still in the hand or not, it’s never a good idea to announce what cards you are holding.  Also, if you folded out of a hand and you see that, had you stayed in, you would have wound up winning, control yourself.  If you react to what you see, you can unfairly influence players that are still in the hand.

Pay Attention:
Finally, it’s very important to pay attention when you play.  If you are listening to music, for example, you might miss a lot of things that are going on.  Also, if you don’t pay attention, you may not act quickly enough for the other players to appreciate.

There’s a second side to that, too.  If you don’t pay attention, you could accidentally act when it isn’t your turn.  That’s very poor poker etiquette.  So, you should always make sure you know what’s going on before you play.